White Fragility
Robin DiAngelo’s piece inspired me to investigate my role in society as a mixed, half white, half latinx, individual in a racialized society. Much of this course is based on the social construction of race so this piece pulled together the perception of race and how that ties into racism and white supremacy. DiAngelo poses questions such as “who went to good schools? who went to bad schools?… When was the first times you had a teacher of the same race as yours? Did you often have teachers of the same race as you own?… Why is it important to reflect on our teachers in our effort to uncover our racial socialization and the messages we receive from schools?”
The questions posed made me realize my privilege in the system. I went to a high school who boasts about being nationally ranked and ranked #1 in Florida. The kids were usually kids of doctors and lawyers and there was ongoing joke that if there happened to be and African American in your graduating class, everyone know them and their story. I could probably count all the African American students I encountered on my fingers. I went there for seven years. I did not have a teacher who isn’t white until sophomore year. It’s a magnet school so has people coming from around the district; however the accessibility is not there. There’s no buses for high school students and the process to get into the school costs money. This leads to the diversity to be virtually nonexistent. I never really wondered why any of this was but this reading made me realize the system of privilege that school is built upon.
This piece was also the basis of my final project. Cheryl Harris’ concept of whiteness as property in that “it shows how identity and perceptions of identity can grant or deny resources. These resources include self-worth, visibility, positive expectations, psychological freedom from the tether of race, freedom of movementnt, the sense of belonging, and a sense of entitlement”(25) intrigued me and pushed me into further investigation. While I am half white I don’t feel like I adhere to all the stereotypes in order to obtain the inherent benefits. This piece showed me that its not the stereotypes of being white that get me those benefits rather it is my ability to pass as white, to be defined as white in society, that gives me advantages.
