A reimagining of the best-selling book that gives young adults the tools to ask questions, engage in dialogue, challenge their ways of thinking, and take action to create a more racially just world
“I was taught to treat everyone the same.” “I don’t see color.” “My parents voted for Obama.” When white people have the opportunity to think and talk about race and racism, they more often than not don’t know how.
In this adaptation of Dr. Robin DiAngelo’s best-selling book White Fragility, anti-racist educators Toni Graves Williamson and Ali Michael explain the concept of systemic racism to young adult readers and how to recognize it in themselves and the world around them. Along the way, Williamson and Michael provide tools for taking action tochallenge systems of inequity and racism as they move into adulthood.
Throughout the book, readers will find the following:
- A dialogue between the adaptors that models anti-racist discussions
- Definitions of key terms
- Personal stories from this multiracial team
- Discussion prompts to encourage readers to journal their reactions and feelings
- Illustrations to help concepts of white fragility and systemic racism come alive
- Portraits of scholars and activists, including Carol Anderson, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Ijeoma Oluo, whose work is amplified throughout Dr. DiAngelo’s theory of white fragility.
“With this adaptation, Williamson (who is Black) and Michael (who is White) do far more than edit DiAngelo’s text; they take its fundamental concepts and thoughtfully contextualize them for their audience, referencing both media and events that postdate the original work’s 2018 publication . . . . Throughout, the co-adapters offer illustrative personal anecdotes, and they set up hypotheticals grounded in the world of teen readers.”
—Kirkus Reviews
How to Read This Book
Introductions
CHAPTER 1
Why Talking About Race Can Be So Hard for White People
CHAPTER 2
Racism, Supremacists, Supremacy
CHAPTER 3
“Non-Racist” Is Not a Thing
CHAPTER 4
How Does Race Shape the Lives of White People?
CHAPTER 5
The Good/Bad Binary
CHAPTER 6
Why Does Racism Always Seem So Black and White?
CHAPTER 7
So What Exactly Is White Fragility?
CHAPTER 8
What Does White Fragility Look Like in Action and How Does It Get in the Way?
CHAPTER 9
Media Analysis—Social and Otherwise
CHAPTER 10
From Fragility to Agility
Acknowledgments
Additional Resources
Notes
Index
About the Authors