White Fragility, Chapter Six

In Chapter Six of White Fragility, the author Robin Diangelo makes the claim that every individual race of color has experienced their own kind of persecution that is different from the rest, and that no race will really understand what other races have experienced unless they have experienced the same thing. She makes the claim that black people and all people of color have a small amount of privileges, and that when a privilege is “given” to them, it should not be taken for granted. I agree with her claim. In a position for a job, the manager or supervisor is most likely going to choose the white person over the black person, even if the black person is more experienced and skilled. I also like how she mentions that each ethnic group in a race are not the same; they may be similar, but they each ethnicity itself is unique; I like how she confirms this comparing the Chinese and Japanese cultures.

I agree when Diangelo says that the black race is the most hated race by the whites, and whites seem to believe that black people are their total opposite. I like how she admits that as a white person, she is in the wrong for anti-blackness, but I do not like the idea of it. Yes, she may have admitted it, but the idea just disturbs me. Before she mentions it, she reassures that she loves her black friends, but goes on to state, “I also recognize the deep anti-black feelings that have been inculcated in me since childhood. These feelings surface immediately—in fact, before I can even think—when I conceptualize black people in general” (Diangelo, 90). Thereafter, she lists stereotypes against black people; so, what I am getting from this is, she is fond of black people and acknowledges them as people, but as a white person, she sees them for what the rest of white humanity sees black people as.

In addition, Diangelo claims that white people would not be where they are if black people were not slaves. If white people did not own slaves, they would not be as superior as they are today. She writes, “…whites need black people; blackness is essential to the creation of white identity” (91). I like how Diangelo describes it too; she basically says that whiteness is the predator, and blackness is the prey. And it is an ongoing cycle that never ends, at least today because it is still a huge current issue in America. This issue has been going on since the era of colonization, and you would think that after so much time, the issue would go away; it is saddening that such an issue is still not resolved. She also mentions white righteousness, which really triggered me when I read about it. Read this: “We have a particular hatred for “uppity” blacks, those who dare to step out of their place and look us in the eye as equals” (95). In short, white people do not want black people to win. They do not want to see black people succeed.