Honestly I had never heard the term before until I was watching a video by Kelly-Ann Maddox on YouTube, a content creator I adore and have spoken to frequently. I didn't truly understand what it was and figured it just didn't affect me. Boy, oh boy, am I so wrong!
Today I watched a video, which I will link below, that features author and University of Washington professor, Dr. Robin DiAngelo in which she speaks about white fragility, a term she is credited for creating. I found myself identifying with a lot of what she speaks about and took some time to contemplate this shadow within myself. I spoke at length about it with my husband, who then watched the video as well.
White fragility refers to feelings of discomfort a white person experiences when they witness discussions around racial inequality and injustice. Racial stressors may cause a range of defensive behaviors and emotions. White people may act in a number of ways when black people or people of color discuss racism. These reactions may
Today I watched a video, which I will link below, that features author and University of Washington professor, Dr. Robin DiAngelo in which she speaks about white fragility, a term she is credited for creating. I found myself identifying with a lot of what she speaks about and took some time to contemplate this shadow within myself. I spoke at length about it with my husband, who then watched the video as well.
White fragility refers to feelings of discomfort a white person experiences when they witness discussions around racial inequality and injustice. Racial stressors may cause a range of defensive behaviors and emotions. White people may act in a number of ways when black people or people of color discuss racism. These reactions may
include: anger, fear, guilt, silence, argument, or simply leaving the situation. When behaving this way, white people prevent the discussion and are then removing themselves from responsibility.
While it may be argued that people experiencing white fragility may not be racist, it is important to understand that our actions, behaviors, and feelings promote racism. Avoiding the topic of race contributes to racism and by disregarding the notions of white superiority and white privilege, racism will continue to hold its place in our society. We may not be directly responsible for the system, but we are responsible for the perpetuation of it.
I am prepared to make changes within myself and confront this shadow that I was honestly unaware of, but now that I am aware, I am holding myself responsible for making a change.
I’ve ordered Dr. Robin DiAngelo's book, White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism through Amazon and it can't arrive soon enough!
While it may be argued that people experiencing white fragility may not be racist, it is important to understand that our actions, behaviors, and feelings promote racism. Avoiding the topic of race contributes to racism and by disregarding the notions of white superiority and white privilege, racism will continue to hold its place in our society. We may not be directly responsible for the system, but we are responsible for the perpetuation of it.
I am prepared to make changes within myself and confront this shadow that I was honestly unaware of, but now that I am aware, I am holding myself responsible for making a change.
I’ve ordered Dr. Robin DiAngelo's book, White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism through Amazon and it can't arrive soon enough!
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