White Fragility, Chapter Four

In the fourth chapter of White Fragility, Diangelo describes her own experiences as a white person and the privileges of white people. She compares the lives of white people to the lives of people of color, and how both sides of the race card prove different outcomes. She starts the chapter off by describing how she “belongs” in society because of her skin color and in part because of how she was raised by her parents. “If I were born in a hospital, regardless of the decade in which I was born, any hospital would be open to me because my parents were white” (51). I like how thereafter she describes the social hierarchy of white people compared to people of color. She writes that white people are given more opportunity and are treated better in almost any situation; the scenario she gave was the hospital. She claims that white people would receive better treatment and have more experienced healthcare workers attending to their needs than people of color would. Like I have mentioned before, this goes for any situation, such as job opportunities, education, etc. White people get off more easily and have more advantages due to their skin tone, and that is really unfair to people of color who may be equally as talented or more skilled than the white person. There goes a loss of opportunity. She mentions this in the chapter as well, when she writes, “When I apply for a job, virtually anyone in a position to hire me will share my race. And although I may encounter a token person of color during the hiring process… the majority of those I interact with will share my race” (54).

In addition, I like how the author acknowledges that her race has never been the one to struggle. She writes, “I don’t carry the psychic weight of race; I don’t have to worry about how others feel about my race. Nor do I worry that my race will be held against me” (54). That is the sad truth about society in America. A white person does not have to fear their life because of their race. In most situations, they are given the benefit of the doubt. Imagine being born as a black male or female and, just by taking your first breath in this world, you already have to carry a burden because of your skin color. They come into this world not knowing that they may not survive the next day. They carry a fear with them because of the way they are seen. You may have seen this in movies, when a black parent has to teach their son or daughter that they must listen to the police when they get pulled over; they have to tell their children specifically what and what not to do, like “Make sure they can see both of your hands at all times”, because of the fear that they may not survive at the end of it. Black parents have to teach this because they want their children to come home safe every night. They fear that maybe one day, they may lose their child to police brutality. This can be shown when Diangelo speaks on the hospital scenario; she states, “Based on this [race] hierarchy, we could predict whether I would survive my birth based on my race” (52).