Why is it so hard for white people to talk about racism?

Penguin Random House, Social Justice Agency and The Book Lounge invite you to the launch of White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo.

Robin will be in discussion with Ruben Richards.

Event details

Date: Wednesday 13 November 2019
Venue: The Book Lounge, 71 Roeland Street, Cnr Buitenkant & Roeland Street, Cape Town
RSVP: booklounge@gmail.com or 021 462 2425 by Monday, 11 November
Facebook event

 

About the book

A practical, crystallising guide for how white people can change the way they communicate and fight racism.

Anger. Fear. Guilt. Denial. Silence. These are the ways in which ordinary white people react when it is pointed out to them that they have done or said something that has – unintentionally – caused racial offence or hurt. After, all, a racist is the worst thing a person can be, right? But these reactions only serve to silence people of colour, who cannot give honest feedback to ‘liberal’ white people lest they provoke a dangerous emotional reaction.

Robin DiAngelo coined the term ‘White Fragility’ in 2011 to describe this process and is here to show us how it serves to uphold the system of white supremacy. Using knowledge and insight gained over decades of running racial awareness workshops and working on this idea as a Professor of Whiteness Studies, she shows us how we can start having more honest conversations, listen to each other better and react to feedback with grace and humility. It is not enough to simply hold abstract progressive views and condemn the obvious racists on social media – change starts with us all at a practical, granular level, and it is time for all white people to take responsibility for relinquishing their own racial supremacy.

Categories Non-fiction South Africa South African Current Affairs

Tags Book events Book launches Cape Town Penguin Random House SA Robin DiAngelo The Book Lounge White Fragility