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Robin DiAngelo
Angela, a Black woman, is a new web developer at DiAngelo’s company. When DiAngelo dismisses a survey that Angela made and makes an off-hand comment about her Black co-worker Deborah’s hair, Angela tells another member of DiAngelo’s team that she thought the comment was inappropriate. DiAngelo processes her feelings with another white person, apologizes to Angela for her racist comment, and asks Angela for further feedback. Angela says that while these kinds of dynamics occur every day, she is pleasantly surprised by DiAngelo’s openness to feedback, her willingness to repair the relationship, and her commitment to doing better in the future. As a result, they have a stronger relationship, illustrating how resisting white fragility when receiving feedback about racist behavior can help build more authentic cross-racial relationships.
Angela Quotes in White Fragility
The White Fragility quotes below are all either spoken by Angela or refer to Angela. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 12
Quotes
First, once I was aware that I had behaved problematically, I took the time to process my reaction with another white person. It was not Angela's duty to take care of my feelings or feel pressure to reassure me. I was also careful to choose someone who I knew would hold me accountable, not someone who would insist that Angela was too sensitive. After I vented my feelings (embarrassment, guilt, shame, and regret), we did our best to identify how I had reinforced racism. I was then ready to return to Angela. […]
'When Angela and I met, I owned my racism. I did not focus on my intentions but focused on the impact of my behavior and apologized for that impact. […]
We then did move forward. Today, we have more trust—not less—in our relationship than we did before this incident.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire White Fragility LitChart as a printable PDF.
Angela Quotes in White Fragility
The White Fragility quotes below are all either spoken by Angela or refer to Angela. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 12
Quotes
First, once I was aware that I had behaved problematically, I took the time to process my reaction with another white person. It was not Angela's duty to take care of my feelings or feel pressure to reassure me. I was also careful to choose someone who I knew would hold me accountable, not someone who would insist that Angela was too sensitive. After I vented my feelings (embarrassment, guilt, shame, and regret), we did our best to identify how I had reinforced racism. I was then ready to return to Angela. […]
'When Angela and I met, I owned my racism. I did not focus on my intentions but focused on the impact of my behavior and apologized for that impact. […]
We then did move forward. Today, we have more trust—not less—in our relationship than we did before this incident.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
