Ted's Reviews > White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism

DiAngelo's book is rather dry and academic, but it's also important. Her day job is facilitating discussions on diversity in private companies, and through this she has realized her most difficult target: talking with white liberals about race. White folks get defensive, angry, and hurt when she points out that they, no matter how much they "don't see race" or "have black friends" or "marched in the '60s" still benefit from the racist/white supremacist system called American society. It's so dominant in fact that it is invisible (to white people).

The book is at its best when DiAngelo tells stories about her various work sessions and encounters with actual "but, I'm not racist" people. There are moments where I've cringed where I recognized things I too have said in the (not so distant) past. The audience for the book might just be the kind of people who wouldn't read it, or get defensive, but it's essential that they try in these very racist times.