then I began to hear things white people say about racism

If I recall correctly, the decision to check out White Fragility was based on seeing something about it on instagram. So I requested it from the library and waited.  While I was "in line" I read some mixed reviews (links at the end of this post), which made me think about returning it before reading it, but decided to try it myself. 

As you see, I got the audio version and the overly cultured voice of the narrator (sorry Amy Landon, your voice is lovely but not right for this book, in my opinion) once again made me want to return it. That was strike 1. In the beginning I recall being very irritated by all the preamble about what we were going to hear/read about.  "Alright already would you just start!" was what I recall thinking. That was strike 2. Then I began to hear things white people say about racism that have come out of my mouth. Things that demonstrate my individuality. That make me different. So I kept listening.

Bottom line - there are some very valid points in this book. It has made me open my mind to broader perspectives of racism and to think differently about how we are socialized. This is not me telling you what to do. It's me saying I have work to do. Recommended reading.  

Helpful links:

John McWhorter's review of White Fragility.

New York Times feature on White Fragility. 

Comments

[jacki long]

Agreed, I think most of have work to do, even if we think we're preytty good.

[Vicki in Michigan]

There are SO many things I did not know (and do not know) that I ought to know.

SO many things we have benefited from that I didn't even know were happening.

I am MUCH more likely now to believe that unbelievable things are happening to others. The fact that those things haven't happened to me is NOT an indication they are not happening....

Thank you for bringing this up, Carol.