This week's episode is a conversation between two white Americans, directed at calling our white listeners into a conversation about race. To our non-white listeners, we invite you to listen and reach out if there is anything we could improve on. We are still unlearning & relearning, but to stay silent is to be complicit so we are using what platform we have to hold space for this essential conversation.
Robin DeAngelo popularized the term white fragility with her book, White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism. This book is a great place to start if you're a white person looking to unlearn some of your internalized racism. There is some controversy surrounding it, so I will say it is not a perfect book - but no single book on racism ever will be.
An easy break down of the concept of white fragility can be found in these articles: https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/a-sociologist-examines-the-white-fragility-that-prevents-white-americans-from-confronting-racism
A much more in depth, scientific dive into the concept can be found in this journal article by Robin herself: https://libjournal.uncg.edu/ijcp/article/viewFile/249/116
White Rage is a term popularized by Carol Anderson's book White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide. I haven't read this one, so I can't speak to it. However, a fantastic breakdown of how white rage has divided this country since President Obama's election can be found here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/is-white-rage-driving-our-racial-divide/2016/06/22/fbeec9fc-22a8-11e6-aa84-42391ba52c91_story.html
White Dominate Culture Norms are the norms & standard practices that exist throughout this country that make public spaces more comfortable & safe for white people than anybody else. Here is a great, short list of examples and their alternatives!
https://www.cacgrants.org/assets/ce/Documents/2019/WhiteDominantCulture.pdf
Finally, if you're in the UK I suggest Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race, by Reni Eddo-Lodge. It is written by an incredible Black, feminist, British woman who explores the specific brand of racism that exists in the UK.
For other areas of the world, please reach out - I'm happy to help find resources that are specific to your geopolitical location. Racism & white supremacy are a global problem, but they do show up a bit differently depending on where you're located.
Music for Gender Journeys Composed by Sonia Bourdaghs
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