Island Girl Book Reviews - White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
I recently read the book white Fragility - Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism - by Robin DiAngelo. Those of you who know me are probably wondering why a Black girl from Barbados added this book to her vacation reading list. In truth, some of my friends in the USA (and Europe) have been reading it, and I thought it might help me to understand the concept of “white fragility” (a term that I have heard around) and some of the dynamics of race in the USA. I had a number of thoughts about the discussion that started before I had even read the book, and now that I have read it, I would like to share some of those thoughts.
I found it an interesting read. The author is extremely knowledgeable about the historical and social factors that lead to the racial dynamics that she outlined, and that lead to deeply ingrained white superiority and racism. She doesn’t tread lightly, but instead dives into the topic, and encourages readers to understand that if they are White Americans, then they are racist, but that this doesn’t make them a bad person, instead it is a reflection of the society that they grew up in. She gives a number of scenarios designed to highlight the origins and results of the problematic behaviour of “white fragility” especially when in a diverse group of people. She makes many suggestions of how white readers can increase their awareness of and make changes to how they react in situations where their white fragility comes to the surface. She offers powerful re-frames and provides resources for more education around the subject of race interactions and racism in North America. Overall I think the book is well written and well structured, and very eye opening. Even though the USA and Caribbean have common history in certain regards, I also learned a lot about other US history and policies which continue to reinforce the existing dynamics of race.
However, I could see how it could be an uncomfortable read for a White person, due to the topic but also partially due to her language and her style. I was concerned that it was slightly “preaching to the choir” in the sense that any white person who would pick up that book, and finish it would probably already be aware of their own bias and be actively looking for ways to improve their beliefs and interactions with people of colour, but that it isn’t necessarily a place to start for someone who is now becoming aware of this bias, or has low level curiousity. In fact, I was concerned that if I gave this book to someone who may be displaying behaviour that shows they have “white fragility” but who wasn’t becoming aware of this, that it might actually make their attitude and behaviour more problematic. And I think that is always a big concern of mine - how to foster communication and relationships between groups so that true diversity can be achieved. While I am not trying to suggest that it should be made “more comfortable” for white people to hear this message, I am not sure that this book and it’s style will foster open communication on both sides, something which is desperately needed.
That being said, the book also gave me an understanding of the differences between myself and Black Americans (and even British to some extent). I mentioned before that I have never lived in the US, however I spent several years studying and working in England. I realised from the moment I got there how difficult it would be for me to understand the experience of Black people who grew up in England, vs myself growing up in the Caribbean. Reading this book has shown me that I need to find more ways to learn about the experience of black people growing up in those countries, and has left me wondering how I can do that more.
One thing that this book talks about, is the fact that most white people in the US are taught that “people are equal” and this lens makes it hard for them to understand the prejudice built into the system. One example she gave was that a white child grows up in a world where they are told that everyone is equal, but then many of their authority figures which they come into contact with every day are white - teachers, doctors, etc, while they are receiving negative or lesser images of blacks - who may hold lower positions in work (cleaner, janitor etc) as well as the images they get through TV and the media. This leads to a belief that Blacks may not be capable of achieving certain things - after all they have the same opportunities and look what “THEY” are doing with them. A black child on the other hand may not have a black teacher until they are in tertiary education (if they indeed go to tertiary education). They receive negative messaging - possibly at school where they may be discouraged from pursuing certain academic pathways, and also from the media. This reinforces the existing dynamic and makes it much harder for black students excel. Because of this, they have two things going against them - the first is the existing culture and society where discrimination is built in, and the second is the lack of confidence and self belief which is possible when there are not a lot of positive role models around (and the work that they have to put in to maintain self belief and confidence).
For me - this was noticeable to me as soon as I moved to England. Growing up in Barbados, I had a different experience. Firstly, Blacks are in the majority in terms of population, and secondly, free education (primary, secondary and tertiary) was introduced in the 1960’s in an attempt to level the playing field, and to ensure that every child could have an opportunity to excel, regardless of their parents’ level of education and what they could afford. This was done to ensure that “lower class” Barbadians could have equal access to education. This meant that most of the people I saw around me were black - doctors, teachers, lawyers, prime minister, bank managers and so on, and came from various backgrounds. It meant that someone like me - who had a difficult upbringing, but who also had family support and traditional “intelligence” (meaning that the school system worked in my favour) paired with seeing myself reflected at every level of society - had no problem believing that I could achieve anything I wanted in life, and that I could hold any profession. I was well into adulthood before I understood the impact of that representation. Reading about how these same factors impacted whites in the USA have made it even more important to me that I understand how to increase and improve representation of black people who are excelling. More on this later.
I received an academic scholarship that allowed me to move to England and study Dentistry, and I never questioned my belonging on this course or in any room I found myself in - my grades were excellent, I loved language, reading and writing, and so I could express myself confidently, and because I didn’t grow up in England, I was pretty much blind to factors that could trigger black students. This was (and continues to be) a considerable privilege for me, and something I do not take for granted.
When I moved to England (especially as I was never in London, or Birmingham, or one of the bigger and more diverse cities) I immediately noticed that there were no black lecturers, or doctors, but the majority of black people I saw were security guards, or worked in retail. I started to wonder what I would believe about myself and what was possible for me if I grew up somewhere and the only people around me who looked like me held those jobs. Would I have believed I could do anything? Would I have excelled academically? I mean - no one knows, but these are the thoughts that lived with me as I spent many years in England. I recently met someone who studied "Snowy Peak Syndrome" for her PhD, and this is described as the fact that UK organizations remain white at the top. (I should add that after she successfully defended her PhD, she packed up her children and moved to Barbados, so that they could grow up there. Another story for another time).
Having that experience in the UK, and reading this book, reinforced to me one thing that I feel that I can be involved in - increasing and improving representation as I mentioned above. I am reminded every time I want to hide myself away because I have weight to lose, or because what I have done isn’t perfect that there are young people out there who need to see themselves reflected to them in every space, so that they can increase their belief in what is possible for them. And while this book has showed me that there is a long way to go in the way of policy and institutional racism, I feel the importance for me to be visible and show others what could be possible, alongside all other actions I take to improve equity, justice and diversity.
I will end this by talking about my personal take-aways from this book.
As I mentioned above - I need to stay visible. I wrote a post here about this, but the bottom line is - regardless of how I feel about my own achievements, and what more I want to achieve in life, I am a doctor, an author and someone who continues to successfully manage mental health and make a difference in my community, and I have done it while being a full figured Chocolate Goddess. Someone out there needs to see that and I so I continue to speak out and to be visible.
Racism is complicated. Each side carries its own history, and I have learned more about it, but also that there is far more for me to understand. While I never intend to minimize this, I also know that growing up in Barbados has given me immense privilege in this conversation, and I will not take that for granted. Instead, I would like to leverage that privilege to be able to have difficult conversations in places where the fact that I may not be triggered can allow a more open conversation between both sides. I want to learn more so that I am able to achieve this more, and I would love to collaborate with a person of colour and a white person to work towards this.
We can all learn from each other. A few people have been surprised that I have chosen to read this book. Some of them are Blacks who live in the US (with upbringing both there and in Barbados) and some of them are Whites (again who live in the USA or UK). But I am open to learning from others, and hearing about their experiences. If there is one thing I learned in life (and this book) is that we can learn so much from each other, regardless of our backgrounds and experiences, and that if we approach each other and listen with an open mind, we might be surprised at what we can learn about each other, and about ourselves!
If you get a chance, read this book.
And I send you big love from a small island.
PS - If anyone reading this actually knows this author Robin DiAngelo I would love to meet her and chat to her!!