The limits of White Fragility's anti-racism

We need more than white guilt to destroy racism in this country

White guilt.
(Image credit: Illustrated | iStock)

White liberals are reading up on racism. The George Floyd protests have only accelerated the "Great Awokening" which has led white liberal opinion on race to move to the left of that of African-Americans on some questions. Thus the 2018 book White Fragility, by the white professor and corporate consultant Robin DiAngelo, which sells itself as a sort of manual for white people looking to fight racism, has spent weeks at the top of The New York Times bestseller list.

It's a laudable impulse. However, while the type of anti-racism advocated by DiAngelo might provide some useful benefits, it is also enervating, distracting, and can even perpetuate its own kind of racial prejudice. We need more than white guilt to destroy racism in this country.

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Ryan Cooper

Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.