Nice Racism: How Progressive White People Perpetuate Racial Harm

by Robin DiAngelo

We've all seen it. A white person is called to account for racism and responds with incredulity, offering a litany of justifications and excuses. White progressives will insist they cannot be racist, using evidence such as "I have a black friend" or "I have traveled extensively." Their friends will vouch that the behavior cannot be racist because "He's a really nice person." It's clear that many white people do not understand systemic racism and cannot separate intentions from impact. In this insightful follow-up to her acclaimed bestseller White Fragility, sociologist Robin DiAngelo illuminates the subtle and insidious racial patterns of progressive white people, revealing how a culture of niceness actually protects racism.

Writing directly to white people as a white person, DiAngelo identifies many common white racial patterns and explains how white people who see themselves as racially progressive can cause the most daily harm to people of color. These patterns include rushing to prove that we are "not racist," downplaying white advantage, pretending white segregation "just happens," co-opting indigenous and other groups' rituals, and allowing shame or personal trauma to immobilize and excuse inaction. She challenges the ideology of individualism and explains why it is appropriate to generalize about white people in order to challenge racism. She demonstrates how white people who experience other oppressions still benefit from systemic racism.

Writing candidly about her own missteps and struggles, and drawing on her insider's perspective, DiAngelo models a path forward, encouraging white readers to continually face their complicity and embrace courage, lifelong commitment, and accountability.

Genres: Nonfiction, Race, Social Justice, Audiobook, Anti Racist, Politics, Sociology

220 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 29, 2021

About the author

Robin J. DiAngelo is an American academic, lecturer, and author working in the fields of critical discourse analysis and whiteness studies. She formerly served as a tenured professor of multicultural education at Westfield State University and is currently an Affiliate Associate Professor of Education at the University of Washington in Seattle. She is known for her work pertaining to white fragility, a term which she coined in 2011.

In a 2011 academic paper she first put forward the concept of white fragility, the notion that the tendency for white people to become defensive when confronted with their racial advantage functions to protect and maintain that advantage.

Reviews

[mark monday]

Dear White People,

Please stop putting money into this person's purse! Please stop handing your greenbacks over to a person who is clearly projecting their own actual racism onto all other white people. Please stop adding to the wealth of a person who diminishes and infantilizes black people. Please stop fattening the bank account of a person who sees black people as a monolithic race composed solely of victims and who sees white people as automatically born racist. Please stop recommending and -for God's sake - teaching an author who thinks individualism is a problem and that progress has not happened. Please stop listening to a person who essentializes and judges black & white people based on the color of their skin. Please avoid a so-called educator whose lessons are diametrically opposed to the teachings of MLK Jr.

Because of prejudice, black & brown & indigenous & asian & jewish & middle eastern people have been reduced into stereotypes by euro-white people since forever. And vice versa. Most, maybe all ethnicities do the same within their communities, this dehumanization based on things like language, faith, amount of melanin. And how has this worked out for us? Have the results of tribalist, judgmental, tunnel-visioned thinking based on color, country, or culture been so uplifting and inspiring that we should continue generalizing about the human race? About any race?

Robin DiAngelo, a white corporate consultant, is rich enough already. If you want to buy books on race & antiracism, why not choose an author who is black or brown and who maybe doesn't make thousands of dollars an hour to talk to corporations? If you want to treat people who don't look like you with the same respect that you treat people who do look like you, because for some reason you aren't doing that already (?!) ... maybe avoid giving money to a person who exists only to separate and who assumes she knows what & how everyone thinks, and why they think that way? If you want to perform allyship, maybe go on stage instead? If you want to self-flagellate, maybe get into the bdsm scene instead? Aren't there enough white saviours running around already? Seriously, don't you realize that it is hypocritical to provide even more funds to a bougie white grifter who literally, gladly, admits that they are a racist and will always be one? And why does a person who turns all white people into uppity secret-racist monsters and who reduces all black people into saintly magical-negro caricatures even have such a wide platform? Shaking my head at America here and at self-loathing liberals everywhere. Y'all kinda make me ashamed to be a progressive. This laughable charlatan is not helping this country. She is a divider, not a uniter.

People, please stop supporting the normalization of racism.
Please stop spreading her toxic message.
Please stop giving her money!



More voices against this deterministic claptrap:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TPuZ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Tmha...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU0fw...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3JJ6...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxDUN...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tjgX...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C1_K...

https://medium.com/illumination-curat...
https://mzfayya.medium.com/glorifying...
https://www.dal.ca/news/2020/09/01/ro...
https://unherd.com/2021/06/antiracism...

https://twitter.com/RheaBoydMD/status...
https://twitter.com/cvaldary/status/1...
https://twitter.com/thomaschattwill/s...

$$$

UPDATE

I want to make it clear that I'm not advocating against people reading this book. I may laugh at you if you do, but hey it's a free country and I'm not a book burner. Nowhere in the original review did I advocate banning this trash. People can read whatever garbage they want to read. What I'm against is (1) DiAngelo's toxic ideology and (2) how white people are making yet another rich white person even more rich by buying a book all about that white person's questionable perspective on race. When they could instead choose to actually support people who aren't white with their dollars. Also, libraries exist! I'm sure DiAngelo would approve of people supporting libraries? Or maybe she would think that is yet another example of white supremacist culture. He said with a sneer.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is perfect for white people who read White Fragility, found it illuminating, and now can't wait to point out the faults of everyone around them instead of looking at their own actions. DiAngelo points out a lot of harmful behaviors that well-meaning people engage in all the time: out woking each other, credentialing, downplaying advantages, lecturing BIPOC people, taking up space, not recognizing power dynamics, hiding behind politeness, pretending the preference of segregation is accidental, and rushing to prove you aren't racist.

If you are going to read only one book about racism, I wouldn't necessarily jump to this one first, but if you feel well-versed in the basics, this book will push you to reflect on your own behaviors and who is actually benefiting from them.

[Read By Kyle · Rating 1 out of 5]

The introduction gave me a brief hope that Diangelo had taken her critics to heart and strove to do better. Alas, halfway through, and all of the same problems that plagued White Fragility are evident here. I will give her credit for explaining how many white progressives are doing a lot of damage without realizing it, but I will immediately subtract those points for not including herself in that list and continously virtue signalling about how she is so much better. I also rolled my eyes at her break down of "discourse" and how things like debate are used to minimize issues that POC have. I think I understand her point here, but it is so broadly used as to mean nothing at all.

My chief complaint with DiAngelo is that she structures her books in a way where if you disagree with her, you are proving her point. That is not the way things work. And hand-waving anybody willing to debate an issue as perpetuating the status quo or minimizing suffering is infantiziling black people and removing agency from everybody in the world. We are allowed to debate and discuss issues. The problem arrives when white people start a debate about race without including POC voices or assuming their voices aren't as heavily weighted. That is definitely problematic behavior. But no distinction is made here.

In general, DiAngelo quotes from a whole bunch of books I've already read that are much better, and I would just suggest you read those instead. The rule of thumb here is, if DiAngelo quoted it, it's probably a better book/article, and you would gain more value from just reading that instead.

[Jacob · Rating 1 out of 5]

About half way through the boom so far. Let me simplify what D'Angelo teaches here.


It is an act of racism to:

1. Treat blacks as individuals rather than a racial group.
2. Treat blacks as a racial group rather then individuals
3. Think that a color blind society is an ideal goal to a achieve
4. To never want to remove race as a factor when dealing with people
5. To have minorities on board meetings and friend circles to fulfil racial requirements
6. To not have minorities represented in your work leadership or personal life, even if the people there are their because of their merits as humans and their races were not factors.
7. To believe in meritocracy
8. To not believe in meritocracy
9. To think that white people can hold individual opinions and not a collective view.
10. To think that white people need to hold to a collective view and not an individual one.
11. to think that a minority would have an individual view that differs from the collective view.
12. to think that minorities have collective views and and not individual ones.
13. To have minorities in your family
14. to not have minorities in your family
15. To deny that you are racist
16 to agree that you are racist
17. to agree that you are racist but not be apologetic enough
18. to agree that you are racist but be too apologetic about it
19. To appear to be a white person in D'Angelo's view but to not be one
20. Having been accepted into a native American tribe
21. To refuse to renounce your Tribe in the name of CRT
22. To say that D'Angelo is too reductive in her views
23. To say that D'Angelo needs to be more in depth
24. to ask D'Angelo to include more racial perspectives in her work
25. To disagree with D'Angelo when she doesn't know your race, she will assume you are white and call you racist.
26. To disagree with D'Angelo at all
27. to question D'Angelo
28. to point out factual errors in D'Angelo's work
29. to reject D'Angelo's incredibly toxic philosophy on the grounds of you're mental and personal health
30. to live a full life just trying to be a good person and treating people like the individuals they are.

[Grant · Rating 2 out of 5]

DiAngelo takes a long time to highlight anecdotal situations of casual racism, ignorance and general white people stupidity with sprinkles of quotes from anti racist books that are actually worth reading. Nice Racism is just a furthering on DiAngelo’s constant need to seek approval from people of colour instead of actually doing anti racist work or trying to gain better outcomes and justice for the oppressed.

This current trend of books on racism that are so devoid of actual history, analysis and or helpful education are not much more than slacktavism from all involved.

[Mansoor · Rating 1 out of 5]

Robin DiAngelo's autobiography.
......
برای مریدان فوکو، که دی‌انجلو هم یکی‌شان است، بحث منطقی و مستدل اساسا محلی از اعراب ندارد. از دید این جماعت گفتمان عقلی هم تنها ابزار دیگری برای سرکوب است. البته برای رعایت انصاف در حق فوکو باید اضافه کرد که اگر او حالا زنده می‌بود، به احتمال بسیار قوی با ذهنیت خودقربانی‌پندار امروزین مخالفت می‌کرد و مترسک‌هایی مثل دی‌انجلو را به باد تمسخر و انتقاد می‌گرفت
......
Image: Canadian progressive PM Justin Trudeau painting his face in an effort to dismantle his whiteness.

[John Martindale · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got the audiobook from the library. It truly kept a smile on my face, it was just so hilariously, and yes it resulted in multitudes of eye rolls--a sign of just how deep my white fragility is I suppose.

Before beginning, let me begin by saying DiAngelo, as she makes abundantly clear throughout this book is the foremost expert on race, so the following is not to be questioned or challenged.

Anyhow, I can save you the time of reading the book. If you are white, YOU ARE RACIST. Period. It doesn't matter where in the world you grew up, or the context you grew up in. To disagree with this statement is racist. EVERYTHING and I mean literally EVERYTHING you think, say or do consciously, or unconsciously is racist, to say otherwise is racist; to be white is to be racist. Know every day, at every moment you are damned if you do, and damned if you don't. There is no way for you to be less racist; your one role is to recognize that you are inherent, irredeemably white, but heaven forbid you to say you feel shame, this tactic is used to try and make yourself a victim and elicit some pity! In reality, because you are so white, you only feel fleeting moments of shame, even though you continually spread racial harm like a disease. And definitely, don't mention or claim trauma or make excuses. Also, remember that DiAngelo has no time to white woman tears.

Please understand that if you speak around a black person, literally anything you say is perpetuating racial harm, but also, if you don't say anything, your silence perpetuates racial harm. If you are around them you're reeking racism, if not present, your absence reeks racism. And how dare you be overly conscious and awkward around Black people, my gosh, loosen up already! Please understand that you are acting like a racist oppressor if you apologize, for this is forcing people of color to forgive you! You are a racist oppressor if you ask a black person a question, for this would be using your whiteness to make them feel obligated to respond! Ugg... Also, the fact that you have few black friends shows how deeply racist you are, but if you do have tons of black friends that shows how racist you are. If you are married to a black person, this shows how racist you are, if not, it is proof you are racist. No black person could ever want to be around you, but how dare you segregate yourself and primarily surround yourself with white people! We know if you have Black friends, it is only because you are making them tokens, expressing your toxic whiteness. And woke white people, for gosh sake, stop with the New Age garbage, for this is cultural appropriation--if you are white, you definitely cannot seek enlightenment and oneness with spirit energy, just think it, do you really think the cosmic energy would want to be united with someone with white skin? Are you, really, as a white person, going to think that "you" could be enlightened?

Few things are more troubling to DiAngelo than the fact that some of her fellow white progressives thought becoming woke could make them less racist and more valuable; could purge from them the stain of the original sin of whiteness, and lessen the perpetual guilt, shame, and self-condemnation. They were delusional enough to think there was a way forward to redemption! It's like they hoped there was forgiveness. But what were they thinking, that this is Christianity or something??!! My gosh, some even thought they could justify their sorry existence! Ugg... But my word did these white social justice warriors miss the point!!!!! Like an old-time revivalist, DiAngelo will show you that you are like a loathsome insect--a terrible sinner who deserves nothing but eternal conscious torture in hell and that there is no salvation. Heady stuff indeed!

So yes, to sum up, if you are white, regardless of if you are woke, progressive, married a black person, have multitudes of black friends, give most of your money to black power causes, protest at every BLM gathering, spend all day every day calling out and shaming others, STILL your very existence is toxic and disgustingly white--and all you do is harmful. You are like the smell of a decaying corpse to all people of color. You are white, you should be less white, but you can't be, because you are white!!! And forever keep in mind that there is absolutely NO greater evidence of how racist you are than if you try to give reasons why you are not racist. So don't even start...

So what are you to do as a white person? It would likely be appropriate for you to continually proclaim that you are white (and thus racist), the fact that you are white must be on your mind the entire day, every book you read, every conversation should be of the sort that reminds you of how white and that you are racist. You need to attend every antiracist training available and pay BIPOC people to educate you. Give your money to people like her and BIPOC people; and if in a position of power, you should step down and try to make sure all other white people are removed from places of power. You should self-flagellating yourself for how utterly white and racist you are or condemn other white people who don't realize how utterly white and racist they are. If your every word and thought are on your whiteness and how inherently racist you are, then you can be a political activist and social justice warrior, seeking to destroy capitalism and bring in a political system that enforces outcomes based solely on race and not merit.

[Karen Ashmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Are there excellent books on fighting racism written by BIPOC authors? Absolutely! Are there also some meaningful books for white anti-racists written from a white perspective? Absolutely!

In this book, Diangelo describes tactics often used by “well-intentioned” white progressives to avoid self-examination needed to get past their own unrecognized racism. She also lists steps white people can actively do to practice what they preach.

Sure there are times where she is a bit egotistic about her skills and knowledge. And sure there was an incidence or two of ageism that I detected. But overall she offers white progressives good advice on ways to learn and grow as an anti-racist activist. BIPOC readers are not her target market. White progressives are the target market for this book.

[Bob Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the runaway success of 'White Fragility', it seemed almost inevitable that DiAngelo would release another book, and indeed, she shares her long history of experience of being a white person engaging with other white people about race, racism and anti-racist work.

She details many circumstances in which a white person can analyse their behaviour and make proper change, i.e. making sure that in being 'nice' (hence the title of the book), we are not accidentally using that as an excuse for doing nothing, or enacting racial harm in another way- for example, not speaking up, or talking about how we are 'one of the good ones' and thereby excusing ourselves from any racism we may have enacted.

In many ways, this book looks at some harmful actions and behaviours that many people wield, consciously or not, and in those scenarios, this book is very helpful.

However, there are two linked problems that I had with the book that I couldn't quite shake whilst listening to it. And those are audience and purpose.

Although DiAngelo is (rightly) quick to both announce that she herself is not an expert in experiencing racism, but rather a very experienced facilitator (a strength that she shares effectively in many parts of the book), and quick to quote and cite Black writers and thinkers who have led her to the conclusions in the books, I found myself wondering why the book needed to exist when there are so many brilliant books by Black writers, who share experiences they themselves have experienced.

As a result, I got lost in the who the intended audience for this book would be, and therefore what its purpose would be.

For example, if the book is aimed at those who read 'White Fragility' and wanted to delve into next steps, this book feels like it might go in too high after that, or assumes knowledge of many other writers, whereas a book like Reni Eddo-Lodge's 'Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race' or Ijeoma Oluo's 'So You Want To Talk About Race' might be a better point of entry.

If the book is aimed at those who are more experienced and are ready to be challenged, then I also question if 'Nice Racism' is the right book, or rather, the right book over the work of a Black writer or thinker.

This is not to say that people will only pick up one book on anti-racism- many people don't- but I think it has to be recognised that many people do, as evidenced by 'White Fragility' massively outselling many other books on race and racism last year.

I recognise I am saying this all as a white person, and, to follow some of the learnings from 'Nice Racism', not to position myself as having 'solved it' or showing that I am 'one of the good ones', but rather to question whether this book, and DiAngelo's platform, could have been better used as a co-authored book, uplifting and featuring voices directly affected by racism, and/or supporting in another way.

Again, this is not to say that the book is without merit- there was a lot in this book that made me deeply reflect, often with horror, on my own behaviours and actions, and DiAngelo is clearly very skilled and experienced as a facilitator, and therefore in seeing reactions before they arise. There is also a lot of value in white people owning the problem and talking to each other about it, as DiAngelo does with a presumed white audience for the book.

But I do wonder if this book relies too much on readers finishing this book, and immediately picking up books by Black authors, when the middleman could have just been cut out, and her platform could have just lifted up those authors themselves.

3.5 stars rounded up.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Amy | Foxy Blogs · Rating 3 out of 5]

White Fragility is a book written by a white woman talking to white people about racism. I wrote that previous line in my White Fragility review a couple of years ago, and I could say the same thing about this book: Nice Racism is a book written by a white woman talking to white people about racism."

I've read a lot of books on racism over the last few years and I think this is the only white author I've read on this subject. Actually, earlier this month I read another book on the Black experience that had a white contributor - Brene Brown - You Are Your Best Thing (5-stars). Fortunately, there are a lot of books out there by BIPOC authors on racism that I think are more helpful than Nice Racism. Yesterday, I finished the book Caste which was easily a 5-star read. That book was so good that Nice Racism book couldn't compare.

I found in this book Ms. DiAngelo spent a good amount of time justifying why she is qualified to talk on this subject. After a while, I wasn't feeling what she had to say on the subject.

I did find it interesting that my hometown was mentioned in the book as a progressive liberal town. I'm not saying the town isn't but there isn't a huge BIPOC community here for those "progressive liberals" to put their 'good intentions' in play.

Anyway, the title, Nice Racism piqued my curiosity so, I grabbed this book from my local library. Hopefully, those not sure where to start on their journey will find this book helpful.

Audiobook source: Libby
Narrator: Dr. Robin DiAngelo
Length: 8H 40M

[Chris Boutté · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book on launch day and binged it within 24 hours. Since reading her first book White Fragility and enjoying it, I wanted to better understand why she’s so polarizing. Again, Robin brings up some great observations, but I think I understand why she upsets so many people. There’s far too much to write in this brief review, but although Robin makes many valid points, the primary issue I see is that she puts white people in a lose-lose scenario where it’s impossible to not be racist. Regardless of if she believes that, I think that’s the wrong way to go about educating people because they feel hopeless and don’t even want to try. If I’m being honest, there’s not much different between this book and the last book aside from personal experiences she’s had since the previous book. She tries to focus more on the aspect of progressive white people being more problematic than they realize, but personally, I gathered that from the first book.

Is it worth your time? If you read her last book, maybe you’ll get something new from this one. But if you’re someone who is highly critical of Robin’s work, I personally don’t think you’re allowed to criticize it unless you read it cover to cover.

I like writing short book reviews with my overall thoughts, but if you’re interested in honest, nuanced review of the book, here’s the link: https://www.therewiredsoul.com/blog/robin-diangelo-nice-racism-review

[Bilal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though this book was not written for me, but for white left-leaning progressives, there were some interesting points to be made in this book. However, as a BIPOC, I don't believe this book's argument doesn't provide enough strength for white progressives to act this way. If white progressives are to listen to BIPOC, then listen to my voice. I do not feel oppressed by whites. Is it possible for us to push the conversation of racial injustices while also accepting the fact that we no longer live under the umbrella of white supremacy?

This book was full of anecdotal evidence, which unfortunately weakens the case that she was trying to make throughout the book. She also had a missed opportunity to talk about biracial people living in America Specifically speaking, biracial people who are half white. What about their perspectives as they are teeter-tottering between two different racial groups one of those that are supposedly oppressing the other group?

Overall, I see and can understand some of her perspectives. Ultimately, this book does more harm than good.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good. Goes way deeper than White Fragility. Learned a lot. I got this out of the library but I think I'm going to need to buy my own copy.

[Mark Robison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd learned a lot about race and myself from the author's White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, and I was confused as it became a totem in the culture war with people constantly misrepresenting its message and clearly not having read it. It would've been easy for the author to attack those on the right to the cheers of those on the left. So it's wonderful to see that this book is not that. She keeps her eye on the ball — trying to diminish racial harm.

The key theme comes when she points out that in a survey of black antiracism activists, they were asked what caused them to burn out. The number one reason? White racial justice activists. White progressives think they know all they need to know about race and often go about it in ways that obliviously harm people of color.

I cringed to see myself in a lot of the author's lessons — she doesn't spare herself either. She frames the book with examples of one instance when she was younger and regaled black acquaintances at dinner about how racist other white people are. And, near the end, she relates a post-"White Fragility" example where she lectured to a group of people of color about what she thought they needed to hear and not what they'd asked to hear.

Racial humility on the part of white people, that's what she calls for, and damned if I don't need to learn more of it myself. Here's a quote that applies to me: "Our certitude that we are free of racism prevents us from any further growth and development." I read lots of books on race and often pat myself on the back with how enlightened about race I am, but I have a ways to go, too. Thank you, Robin, for helping me on the journey.

One thing that took away from the positives I got from the book, though, is the end where she gives her prescriptions on how to move forward. They make no sense, at least to me.

Here a few of the dozens of excerpts I highlighted in my ebook version:

In popular culture, “white supremacy” connotes people who would wear hoods and explicitly espouse the ideology that white people are superior. But this usage is extremely narrow and simplistic and leaves out vast layers of nuance and complexity. I use the broader sociological understanding of the term, which includes the multitude of ways our society elevates white people as the human ideal and norm for humanity and relegates everyone else as a particular kind of human, and always a lesser deviation from the white ideal. This relegation is reinforced when we consistently mark the race of anyone who is not white, while not naming our own.

And:
We claim to support racial justice efforts but want to suppress the tensions that accompany achieving that goal. In Letter from the Birmingham Jail, written in 1963 while he was imprisoned for protesting racial segregation, King observed that white moderates played a fundamental—albeit implicit—part in the resistance to racial equality:

"I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom. . . . Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection."

And:
Note, for example, the common guidelines many white organizations use when setting up discussions on race: assume good intentions, respect differences, speak for yourself. Whose interests do these guidelines serve? They serve white expectations for racial comfort: ensuring niceness and warding off direct challenges. In so doing, they are not accounting for the ever-present dynamics of power, assuming a universal (white) experience, and policing BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) people into not engaging with authenticity lest they face the punitive power of white fragility.

And last one:
This is one of the great contradictions of white progressives. On the one hand, I would never want to say or do anything racially hurtful. But on the other, don’t you dare tell me I have said or done anything racially hurtful!

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

rtc

[Andre(Read-A-Lot) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughts. White Fragility part two. And that is not necessarily a bad thing, because reminders of needing to do the work are most helpful and essential in the work of transforming oneself on the way to transforming the society.

“Indeed, I don’t think there will be structural transformation without personal transformation. In this sense, personal transformation is an act of anti-racism. White people must understand how race shapes our own lives and how we are conditioned into complicity, regardless of awareness or intention. White people also need an insider perspective—from someone who has “been there” and had that thought, felt that emotion, enacted that behavior, struggled with that feedback, and had that insight—that we can relate to and that can serve as an example.”

So she remains a consistent and persistent advocate for anti-racism and I’m sure some may think of her as a thorn in their side. Her target audience here is white people, although I think, as I said with White Fragility, we Black folk can find some benefit from the insiders perspective. I appreciate her carefulness in not trying to be a spokesperson for Black people or a leader in any type of way. She seems genuine and sincere in her role as advocate for anti-racism and a strong ally. So, herein she offers some helpful strategies to strengthen one’s struggle to becoming anti-racist. She implores readers to employ critical thinking.

“Critical thinking goes beyond simply having a different opinion; critical thinking is the result of gaining a more informed perspective by engaging with evidence, study, practice, and multiple layers of complexity.”

You can see her pointing the way to a brighter future, if the work could be done, the question as always is will the people do it. I’m sure Robin D’Angelo will keep grinding and reminding in future work. Well done.

[David]

How lacking in self-awareness do you have to be to choose such a subtitle? Robin DiAngelo herself has likely perpetuated more racial harm than any other single white progressive. I haven't read it and won't read it because it appears to simply be more of the same from her first book, which I have read.

[Barbara Fox King · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have never given a book a one star review before today. I couldn't even finish it. Between the preachy tone, classist issues and most importantly her grandiose, holier than thou tone throughout. I'll be buying a book by a POC author to explore this specific issue.

[Shelby (catching up on 2025 reviews) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This was fantastic!!👏🏻👏🏻
Very well written and narrated by the author. She really challenged me to reflect. It's been years since I read White Fragility, but this is a really good follow up!

Full review to come!

[Camille McCarthy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Edit to add this review, which I think presents some of why I had issues with the book: https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/08/...

I have some really mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I think she makes a lot of good points about how white people, even progressives, are more focused on not appearing racist than they are on actually listening to people of color or changing behavior when racism is called out. On the other hand, there was something grating about her writing that I found hard to get through. I felt very odd reading a book about racism written by a white woman and I can't say I really find this method of getting through to people effective - she also uses behaviors she calls out as problematic, such as "credentialing" and constantly referencing her interactions/friendships with people of color to back up her points further. The book is way too academic and she is defining new terms almost constantly. Again, she makes some good points, I just don't really like the way she writes. It is also kind of odd that she makes her money explaining racism to people as a white person - super weird to think about.
For me, the best parts of the book were when she quoted from other books written by Black writers, so I would probably suggest just reading those other books. In addition, she never calls out the role of capitalism in creating and perpetuating racism, and almost all her examples were from her own seminars and workshops she has attended, making it hard for me to apply some of what she's saying to everyday situations. I think she has a good point that we need to actively try and lead integrated lives, but she has no advice on how to do this naturally, even after acknowledging that our workplaces, schools, and neighborhoods are segregated and that you shouldn't just make friends with people to improve your friend group's diversity. I wish she had also included more examples of how removing barriers for people of color can help everyone - she briefly mentions this towards the end, in reference to the "achievement gap" in schools, but I think that was a very concrete topic she could have spent more time on which would have helped the reader to understand HOW to be anti-racist.
I haven't read "White Fragility" but other reviews suggest it is a better book than this one - I'm not sure I will get around to it since I seem to have a bias against this author and I don't think I could stand reading another of her books, even though I agree with what I know of her ideas of white fragility.
I would suggest reading Ibram X. Kendi's "How to Be an Antiracist" instead of this book as a good place to start.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read DiAngelo's widely discussed previous book, White Fragility. This more recent book didn't disappoint. For me, it fit my aspiration of commitment to listening and self-reflection on the issue of race. I feel I clearly fit in her targeted audience of those who are well intended but capable of missing the mark on what is helpful and truly progressive. I will continue to reflect on way to deepen my understanding with humility and accountability. DiAngelo provides a helpful summation of suggested actions. For myself, a valuable takeaway is reflecting on the difference between niceness (a place I find comfortable) and kindness which is actionable and more authentic.

[Петър Стойков · Rating 3 out of 5]

Расизмът е като че ли най-горещата тема в англоезичните държави - която за моя огромна радост, на нас ни е до голяма степен спестена. Не, че нямаме различни раси (етноси де...) у нас, но нямаме колониално или робовладелско минало, даже напротив, а относно ромите общественото мнение в цяла уж много прогресивна Европа е същото като у нас.

Логично, понеже в споменатите англоезични държави расизмът изведнъж, за последните няколко години, се превърна в кажи-речи най-лошото нещо на света, се появиха всякакви мошеници, които се опитват да се възползват от това и да вземат пари от него. Обученията в "антирасизъм" са голям бизнес. Слагам "антирасизъм" в кавички, понеже споменатите мошеници съвсем не са мотивирани от истинско желание да не са расисти, даже често са просто расисти към белите хора. Мотивирани са от желание за пари и за морална извисеност над ближния. Както ще видим по-долу даже, по-умните от тях го осъзнават.

Робин Дианджело е бяла жена, авторка на една от по-известните "антирасистки" книги на американския пазар, която обяснява колко лош е расизмът и как всички бели хора са расисти, даже без да знаят. Дотук нищо учудващо.

Втората й книга обаче, Nice Racism: How Progressive White People Perpetuate Racial Harm е един своеобразен, макар и малко мътен и нискокачествен, диамант, блещукащ в смрадливото бунище на "антирасистката" индустрия.

С нея Диаджело забива нож в сърцето на белия, сравнително заможен, прогресивен либерал, което у нас е умнокрасив, жълтопаветен "градски млад човек", който се има за голямата работа, защото е "антирасист" и се надсмива и презира ония долни селяни от провинцията, с техния Тръмп, камиони и кънтри музика, които (в представите на споменатия високомерен, прогресивен либерал) мразят и бият черните и другите малцинства.

Оказва се, че ако се замисли човек даже малко (което повечето хора никога не правят, дори и особено тия които се имат за много умни и морално извисени... както се казва няма по-сляп от тоя, който не иска да види) цялата "антирасистка" реторика всъщност е доста расистка. Тя принизява малцинствата точно така, както расистката реторика ги принизява, но даже е по-кофти от нея, защото това принизяване и пренебрежение са скрити и подсъзнателни, а не на открито и съответно по-трудно се реагира срещу тях.

Робин Дианджело описва нещата в нейния социално-политически лагер горе долу точно така, както всеки от другия лагер (не тоя на расистите, а по-скоро на нормалните хора) отдавна ги вижда. Разбира се, всичко това е подкрепено със солидна гарнитура от задължителните "антирасистки" клишета, но все пак книгата ще дойде доста отрезвяващо на много народ, които се имат за по-праведни от папата в това отношение.

[Louise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review copy from NetGalley.
I have very mixed feelings toward this book. On the one hand, I don't think I have an issue with a white person writing about racism that is intended for a white audience. Maybe that's a good way to address some of these issues, and besides, why should BIPOC/POC's have to do all the labour?

However, the author has made a hefty income running seminars on race and writing at least two books on the subject. This seems to reduce the anti-racism movement down to something an expensive corporate seminar can fix in an afternoon.

I do think there's some good points made in here, such as reframing the question 'Is this person racist?' to 'Is this person's actions racist?'. I doubt that's a new concept. For a UK audience, this book is too US-centric to be of much practical use. In general, the book doesn't offer up much in the way of practical solutions. It seems to want to take an individualist approach when I believe structural reorganisation is the more effective (but more difficult) way forward.


There are books written by British w riters who are not white that I believe would be of more value to a UK audience.

[Eli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before I start talking about my feelings on this book, I do want to say that the author states repeatedly that we should all be reading the works of BIPOC authors and activists primarily concerning anti-racist literature. She also does not absolve herself of perpetrating acts of racism on BIPOC people she encounters, and she tells a lot of stories in detail about this in her life, even some fairly recent ones. So she definitely doesn’t consider herself Queen of Wokeness/Anti-Racism or anything. The reviews I see saying the opposite strike me as ones that only read maybe half the introduction? I just finished the whole book and have nothing but positive things to say about it.

I do consider myself a “progressive white person”, so the title of this really intrigued me. I knew the author is white before going into it because I also read White Fragility by this author (which I argue should be read first, only if you’re interested). She reiterates that anti-racism is a continuing process, though some people consider it to be a racist vs. not racist binary. I found it eye-opening in terms of what behaviors may be and oftentimes are interpreted as racist by BIPOC people. The author has obviously spent a lot of her time working with Black scholars and activists who helped inform her on what is and isn’t harmful from white progressives, a lot of which is unintentional but still very harmful.

I find value in this book because it’s coming from a white progressive who has made some of the same mistakes I have made. She has lived the experience, so she understands the intricacies of why some white progressives do the things we do. Not that BIPOC people don’t understand it (after all, it is also their lived experience, but from the other side).

My review is super jumbled together because I’m still processing thoughts on it, but again, white people: I’d recommend White Fragility first, then this, then diving headfirst into any anti-racist literature by BIPOC authors. If you only read one work of anti-racist literature (god forbid), just let it be from a BIPOC person. Really enjoyed this, but I don’t feel led to believe that even the author of this book would urge anyone to read their books over the books of BIPOC people if you could only choose one.

Thanks for reading.

[Courtney Ferriter · Rating 4 out of 5]

** 4 stars **

DiAngelo's follow-up to White Fragility presumes that her reader is a well-intentioned, self-identified progressive white person who believes that systemic racism is a reality and a problem. Starting from this premise, she goes on to explain how it is actually progressive white people who inflict the most daily harm on people of color, especially since we tend to think of ourselves as 'woke,' and thus, not as part of the ongoing problem of racism in the U.S. Using herself and her own experiences as examples as well as citing the work of Black antiracist writers and thinkers (including Ibram X. Kendi, James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, Beverly Daniel Tatum, Heather McGhee, Nikole Hannah-Jones, and others), DiAngelo urges progressive white people to critically examine our own complicity in upholding racist structures of power through silence, passivity, 'accidental' segregation, gaslighting and not believing people of color, and more.

This book was a great tool for helping me to consider my own blind spots and a great reminder that the work of antiracism is never finished. We should always keep learning because there is always more to learn and more growing to do. I would recommend this book to any white person who considers themselves to be politically progressive. I have included below some insights from the book that I found particularly salient.

"The more our identities are attached to the idea that we are among the 'woke ones,' the more resistant we can be to owning our own patterns of [racist] collusion. When called in on those patterns, we make the move of credentialing, citing our involvement as evidence to rebut the charge. Do we actually 'get it' if we think anything could or does certify us as unable to cause racial harm?" (162)

"White supremacy provides very real material and psychological benefits for white people. [...] Thus, anti-racism takes both personal and public courage to stand firm in the face of the inevitable pushback, retaliation, and seductive rewards for silence and complicity. Niceness is not courageous and will not sustain us in the face of resistance." (173)

"[W]e must not ever consider our work toward racial justice to be finished. No one arrives at a racism-free state." (173)

[Maggie Mattmiller · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember liking/learning from White Fragility.

Just finished listening this one, and now I'm really not so sure about Ms. DiAngelo. I think there are some good bits of thought/perspective/information in this one, but a lot of it also seems to come from other people. There seem to be a number of contradictions between what she is saying, and what she is doing/how she is presenting her information.

She's clearly very smart and has done her research- I just don't know that she's someone I can continue to learn from/benefit from reading. Definitely examining myself for if I'm just being defensive/fragile to what she is presenting, but I struggled throughout this this one. It's not the concepts, so much as who it's coming from, and if it feels her practices are matching what she's preaching. (Maybe it's just hard to present that in a book?)

Just felt icky a lot in this one. But also, some good stuff.

[Ryan Reese · Rating 3 out of 5]

Robin DiAngelo has never been about taking it easy, and I appreciate that about her in many contexts. I felt challenged and confronted in important and meaningful ways throughout this book, which is specifically aimed at liberal white progressives. I thank her for that, and I will continue working on my anti-racist practice. I do struggle with her writing at times, as I feel that she does not allow room for any disagreement with her ideas. There are entire chapters in this book devoted to pre-emptively combating possible reactions to her work. I understand that this is one approach to scholarship, but I also feel like if I were with her in person, there would not be much room for conversation. She is much more qualified in this field than I am, and I definitely have more to learn, but I don't know if she pushes too hard in places that might shut learning down for her readers.

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Listened to Audiobook)
Similar to “White Fragility”, DiAngelo has so many great points and lessons in this book that can challenge me to be more aware and more anti-racist. Some of the things that stuck out to me:

“Some white progressives DO want to talk about racism, and voluntarily show up at workshops or presentations on racism. But they’re more likely to be thinking about the OTHER white people who really should be receiving the message, not their own need to hear it.
Their first question is usually some form of ‘how do I tell my family/friend about their racism?’”

“One of the most transformative qualities we can develop as white people grappling with racism and our role in it is HUMILITY about the necessary limits of our understanding”

“I’m all for niceness in general. I do not enjoy mean people and I’m not advocating for white people to be unfriendly. But Niceness is not anti racism. Niceness does not indicate a lack of racism and is not the solution to racism. Nor does a culture of niceness indicate that racism is not present in the environment. The critique here is directed at white progressives who think that niceness means that they hold no racism and that it conveys that same meaning to others”

“You know what it’s like being around white people? It’s like you’re sitting at this elaborate banquet table with all this amazing food. And you’re acting like you’re not sitting there and the food isn’t any good.
We KNOW you’re sitting there. We see you. We know what you have. Why can’t you just be honest about enjoying the food.
We don’t want you to not enjoy the food. What we want is a place at the table”

“We need to develop the humility to not know. We do not have to fully understand a racialized persons experience before it can be validated. We also need to build the capacity to just sit and bear witness to expressions of pain about racism rather than try to block them, explain them away, or co-op them with expressions of our own pain”

“White feminists, through our direct marginalization under patriarchy, have a powerful entry point to understand our complicity with racism. But we must use that experience as a way IN and not a way OUT”

“We must stop using sexism to protect our racism”

[D.B. John · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most significant book I’ve read this year. And it prompted much reflection and soul-searching in me. White fragility – the bewilderment, anger and defensiveness displayed when nice people's everyday racism is called out – will only be disrupted if white people acknowledge some painful truths. That seems to provoke an extreme reaction in some, judging from a few of the reviews on here, which range from refuse-to-read snootiness to anger management referrals. I hope the author is not disheartened. She has condensed years of learning, listening and insight into a concise and highly accessible book. However progressive and understanding, white people internalize superiority. It may seldom be conscious. It’s a part of anyone growing up white, like strata in rock. At the same time, we seek connection with and validation from racialized people, a relentlessly dismal and psychologically exhausting experience for them. There were points in the book when this reader felt the bleakness of the task the author and her co-activists face, but white humility seems to be a good starting point for progress and growth, mine included. If white people can be persuaded to listen, and have humility, we may begin to see that white is not neutral. It is a race heavy with history and power and any BIPOC person hoping to challenge that faces serious risks. I kept thinking that here in the UK, ‘niceness’ could be replaced with ‘politeness’ – the whole scale of bias and prejudice that is concealed behind courtesy and good manners.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm quite surprised at the lack of hype for Nice Racism. The hold for the audiobook at my library was moooonths long, so I was expecting to see more ratings and reviews on here. This book is kind of a follow up to White Fragility, but focusing more specifically on the ways that well meaning white people can actually do more racial harm than good. I liked it even more than the first one, as it gives a lot more specific examples and scenarios.

I understand a lot of the criticism about this author is that she is a white woman writing about racism, and I do see where a lot of that is coming from. I would also definitely recommend that you seek out authors of color on this topic over Nice Racism or White Fragility, but I do think that they have some real value. DiAngelo's books are targeted towards white readers, who may feel more comfortable or accepting towards hearing some of this information from another white person.