In this episode, we talk with Prof. Robin DiAngelo, consultant, educator and facilitator for over 20 years on issues of racial and social justice about the concept of “White Fragility”. We explore various aspects of white fragility including racial experience and socialization, racial belonging, the concept of racial innocence and how these, and other, often unconscious yet insidious dynamics, uphold racism in a personal and professional context. This topic is central for therapists working in the South African contexts, as knowledge of racial dynamics is a key consideration in the therapeutic exchange with clients, and ways that therapists may inadvertently be re-enacting harmful racial exchanges.
Diangelo, R. (2018) How does race shape the lives of white people? In White Fragility: Why its so hard for what people to talk about racism (pp51-69) Beacon Press: USA.