We cannot escape race. It is everywhere. And in what we refer to as the "Western world," race tends to slant one way. "White" is considered the norm; anything else is the "other" and, therefore, inferior and oppressed. And it can be hard to discuss this, because white people tend to feel an innate guilt.Robin Diangelo's argument in WHITE FRAGILITY is that racism and white supremacy are a part of white culture--we can't escape this. But we can address it. We can stop running from it. To do otherwise is to perpetuate these very things that most of us condemn. This is a slim volume, but it packs a wallop. I come from a rural small town, but have considered myself progressive for some time. I've recognized that I'm not truly above racism--none of us are, ultimately, Diangelo argues--but this book still made me think, and not just about myself, but about my friends and family, who will look you in the eye and tell you they aren't racist, and then tell an off-color joke with offensive terminology. I believe, ultimately, the people who truly need to read this book won't; but it will help those of us who do read it perhaps change a few minds, if only our own. An important, almost necessary read, especially as we enter these dark times that lay before us.

This was a truly transformative read. As a liberal white woman, I cannot recommend this book enough. It’s both an understanding of why we white people have such discomfort discussing race, and a call to action.

White FragilityRobin Diangelo’s White Fragility is worth the read, yet, I feel the horses have already left the barn in regard to this books target audience and it’s timeliness.Diangelo correctly identifies that the culture in America of Racism/white culture is deeply engrained in the United States. It is “systemic, societal, institutional, and omnipresent” in our society. Our movies, television programming, literature, schools, government, etc is for the most part white for whites, and there are distinct advantages that come along with that whiteness of our overall culture.This might be a part of an argument to use against someone who says slavery ended over a hundred and fifty years ago, time to get over it. But the peels of the onion (racial prejudice) go much deeper, and in my opinion, the author misses the boat on this issue. She appears to focus on the professional levels, where whites do not understand the isolation felt by blacks, and gives good examples on how to interact and learn for whites. As a matter of fact, her examples of dealing with racial issues on individual basis can easily be transcribed into situations on how to deal with all our fellow men and women.White Fragility will offend many white people, if they were to read the book, and if that is its intention, it has succeeded. Too many people of all races and genders at this time are hustling to just scrape out an existence. The system of meritocracy does not bode well for those who choose not to climb aboard, as white biased as it might be, and the advantages the white bastions of our society have in achieving higher levels of success. I don’t think that in the dog eat dog world in which we live, that whites will give that up.Robin Deangelo’s White Fragility is a good book, that relentlessly pounds at the culture in our country as white centric, and I agree with her thesis. She touches on basic prejudices we all have, black and white, as well as our inclinations to be judgmental. She attempts to give advice, most of which is good, in order for whites to better understand and appreciate blacks, yet falls far short of answering the question of how blacks can exit the self perpetuating destructiveness that permeates their “culture,” whether initiated by whites or not.I’m open for discussion if anybody wants to comment on my review. Personal experience and recent reading do not make me an expert on the topic of White Fragility, but have opened my mind further to this issue.

Find it well written. Makes a passionate and well-reasoned argument. Love how she speaks sincerely without condescension. If read with an open mind, I find it hard to believe you walk away unchanged.

Well written. Content we all should read!