White Fragility is a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves. These moves include the outward display of emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and behaviors such as argumentation, silence, and leaving the stress-inducing situation. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium. Racial stress results from an interruption to what is racially familiar. These interruptions can take a variety of forms and come from a range of sources, including:



Suggesting that a white person’s viewpoint comes from a racialized frame of reference (challenge to objectivity);



People of color talking directly about their racial perspectives (challenge to white racial codes);



People of color choosing not to protect the racial feelings of white people in regards to race (challenge to white racial expectations and need/entitlement to racial comfort);



People of color not being willing to tell their stories or answer questions about their racial experiences (challenge to colonialist relations);



A fellow white not providing agreement with one’s interpretations (challenge to white solidarity);



Receiving feedback that one’s behavior had a racist impact (challenge to white liberalism);



Suggesting that group membership is significant (challenge to individualism);



An acknowledgment that access is unequal between racial groups (challenge to meritocracy);



Being presented with a person of color in a position of leadership (challenge to white authority);



Being presented with information about other racial groups through, for example, movies in which people of color drive the action but are not in stereotypical roles, or multicultural education (challenge to white centrality).



–Robin DiAngelo, “White Fragility”