The goal of my work is to make visible the inevitable racist assumptions held, and patterns displayed, by white people conditioned from living in a white supremacist culture.
Robin DiangeloRead
We have always policed the bodies of people of color, and black people in particular. The Jim Crow South is a classic example. White flight in the North. School segregation. Gerrymandering.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote discusses the systemic policing and discrimination faced by people of color, particularly Black individuals, throughout history.
Robin Diangelo's quote highlights the ongoing issues of racial discrimination and systemic injustice that have historically impacted Black communities in America. By referencing significant historical contexts such as the Jim Crow South, school segregation, and gerrymandering, the statement underscores the pervasive nature of racism and the societal structures that uphold inequality. It serves as a reminder of the urgent need to address these injustices and advocate for change in the pursuit of racial equity.
Themes
RacismDiscriminationEqualityJusticeHistorySystemicPolicingChange
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on systemic racism, this quote can be used to illustrate the historical context of racial discrimination.
More from Robin Diangelo
All quotes →Whites often respond defensively when linked to other whites as a group or 'accused' of collectively benefiting from racism, because as individuals, each white person is 'different' from any other white person and expects to be seen as such.
Robin DiangeloRead
One of the most important misunderstandings for white people to get over to move forward is this idea that racism is a good-bad proposition - that if we're good we can't be part of it, that being uncomfortable means you're a terrible person. We have to let go of that and understand it as a system we all live in.
Robin DiangeloRead
You have to be in accountable relationships across race. Accountable means that they're authentic, they're sustained, and that you do talk about racism, and you are able to be given feedback.
Robin DiangeloRead
This is what I have learned: Any white person living in the United States will develop opinions about race simply by swimming in the water of our culture. But mainstream sources - schools, textbooks, media - don't provide us with the multiple perspectives we need.
Robin DiangeloRead
White consciousness is deeply anti-black, and that's for progressives and conservatives.
Robin DiangeloRead
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