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NICE RACISM

Robin DiAngelo

How Progressive White People Perpetuate Racial Harm

Building on the groundwork laid in the New York Times bestseller White Fragility, Robin DiAngelo explores how a culture of niceness inadvertently promotes racism.
In this insightful follow-up to her acclaimed bestseller, White Fragility, 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 traumas to immobilize and excuse us. She challenges the ideology of Individualism and explains why it is appropriate to generalize about white people in order to challenge racism, and 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 insiders' perspective, DiAngelo models a path forward, encouraging white readers to continually face their complicity and embrace courage, lifelong commitment, and accountability. NICE RACISM is an essential work for any white person who recognizes the existence of systemic racism and white supremacy and wants to take steps to align their values with their actual practice. This is a timely and invaluable resource for readers who think that niceness is enough to interrupt racism. Dr. Robin DiAngelo is an affiliate associate professor of education at the University of Washington and holds two honorary doctorates. She has been a consultant, educator, and facilitator on issues of racial and social justice for more than twenty-five years. She is the author or coauthor of several books, including #1 New York Times bestseller White Fragility. She lives in Seattle.
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Published 2021-06-29 by Beacon Press

Comments

A valuable primer... A pointed reminder that good intentions aren't enough to break the cycle of racism.

In this illuminating follow-up to White Fragility, Robin DiAngelo integrates sharp insight, personal vulnerability, and compassionate guidance with the keen eye of an 'insider.' Focusing specifically on the more subtle patterns of white progressives, her work continues to be invaluable to the project of ending white supremacy.

Personal transformation is an act of anti-racism, and DiAngelo has just given progressive white America the field guide.

Spectacular! With the precision of a social scientist, Robin DiAngelo dissects and puts under the microscope seemingly benign 'white moves' - including her own - in ways that make undeniable how each functions to recalibrate white dominance and comfort again and again. A critical tool for white progressives wanting to know better so we can do better.

A fierce critique of the 'culture of niceness' that prevents the hard work of dismantling racism... She dismantles unconscious biases with precision. Readers will feel compelled to hold themselves more accountable.

With the hard-earned insights that come from years of study and leading workshops on racism, Robin DiAngelo captures the strategies often used by well-intentioned white people to avoid the self-examination needed to confront their own unrecognized racism. If you want to get beyond feeling defensive and increase your capacity for effective anti-racist action, do yourself a favor and read this book!