White Fragility by DiAngelo Book Analysis Essay

White Fragility written by DiAngelo is a series of claims backed up by an endless downward spiral, filled with contradictions and one true conclusion: once a racist always a racist.  While the book was filled with topics that needed to be addressed, the delivery was just one big showcase that showed no way to progress. While reading Lozado’s critique of White Fragility     the problems he brought forward were ones we as reader could only agree to and here's why.  

When speaking about something like White Fragility one would expect there to be an answer or something people can take from the book to help them change their way of thinking. However in the end of the book DiAngelo leaves with no way of fixing or correcting an action leaving us readers asking : What was the point? Lozada spoke of the book and stated “ DiAngelo argues, drawing her circle ever tighter. And if you’re a white person who finds that logic unreasonable — well, we all know what that means”  once a racist always a racist.  Many times DiAngelo states that “ Racism is the norm”  then leaves the book not explaining how to fix the issue at hand. Leaving us the reader with no way out, and wondering if she knew what she was talking about. 

While reading White Fragility the author talks about many issues, however everytime she actually talks about a person of color they are only there to make some point of hers. Carlos Lozada stated “ People of color rarely emerge as fully formed characters in these pages, except to provide opportunities for white Americans to engage in an ‘authentic exploration of racial realities — that is, to help them know when they are doing better.” She never allows people of color to have a spot or only discusses them when she has to move the story along, for example when talking about racial triggers for white people she starts with a story. The story starts with how some white person began feeling attacked after their racial statements were made, the person still white then expresses they feel attacked. Later in the same story DiAngelo brings in a woman of color stating “ the only black woman on a workplace planning team listens attentively to her white colleagues for the first hour of a meeting..” (DiAngelo , 99) then she goes back to the white colleague that felt attacked by her. Within the book all people of color are addressed as such, People of color, blacks, african americans. We are not allowed within her book to be anything other than that. We are pons in her story used to make points. That's all.  

Throughout the entirety of the book DiAngelo throws out points like punches to a punching bag, while throwing in stories of her own. Lozada stated “White Fragility presents oversimplified arguments that are self-fulfilling, even self-serving.”  Knowing that DiAngelo has full awareness of White Fragility hearing the stories that she throws in for herself, one can take it as self serving. Within the reading readers feel like she’s throwing her own stories trying to have the readers forgive her because she is the one white person who seemingly has her act together. For example “ still i believe that what it comes down to is :  I need to trust that you won't think i’m racist before i work on my racism” ( DiAngelo,126) 

In conclusion DiAngelo’s White Fragility was a strong book but missed in many areas such as the ones discussed which did make her lose power throughout, not only was the frequent repetition of points also terrible but the three claims here are what forced us the readers to side with Lozado. 

Work Cited 

DiAngelo, Robin J. White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism. Allen Lane, 2019.

Lozada, Carlos. “Review | White Fragility Is Real. But 'White Fragility' Is Flawed.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 2 July 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/06/18/white-fragility-is-real-white-fragility-is-flawed/.