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
One of the things I try to work with white people on is letting go of our criteria about how people of color give us feedback. We have to build our stamina to just be humble and bear witness to the pain we've caused.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of humility and understanding in conversations about race and the experiences of marginalized communities.
Robin DiAngelo's quote highlights the necessity for individuals, particularly those from privileged backgrounds, to approach feedback from people of color with humility and openness. It suggests that instead of imposing personal standards on how feedback is given, one must learn to listen and acknowledge the pain caused by systemic injustices, fostering a more empathetic and constructive dialogue around race.
Themes
HumilityFeedbackRaceUnderstandingPain
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a diversity training workshop to encourage participants to listen more effectively.
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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