College Essay On “White Fragility”

05 Sep College Essay On “White Fragility”

In White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Race, author Robin DiAngelo purports that “though white is triggered by discomfort and anxiety, it is born of superiority and entitlement. White fragility is not weakness per se. In fact, it is a powerful means of white racial control and the protection of white advantage” (2).

Show through quotes, analysis, and the use of other sources how emotions of whites are heightened when the question of systemic racism is initiated in conversation. Discuss why most white folks indulge “anger, fear, and guilt and behaviors such as argumentation, silence, and withdrawal from the stress-inducing situation” (DiAngelo, 3) and how these reactions provide racial safe comfort zones that enables them to maintain dominance with in a racial hierarchical framework.

Draw upon historic evidence to support your claims. Carefully consider some of the covert and overt strategies used to create distance from people of color; while paying laser attention to a systemic justification of maintaining “white equilibrium” as it aids their protection to avoid the realities of their privileged positionality. In your essay of 5 pages, discuss whether or not you support DiAngelo’s position and her insights regarding the

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resentment and disinterest in whites learning more about the complex racial and social dynamics that impact people of color.

Remember to do the following in your essay: 1) state your own position in your thesis statement; and 2) support your thesis by discussing specific points that addresses Diangelo’s main argument. All in all, your essay will include a combination of your own ideas, analysis, observations, examples and details as they relate to the main points that DiAngelo conveys. USE the references listed below.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Your final draft will be graded on the following:

1) an insightful thesis statement that clearly reveals your response to and position on Robin DiAngelo’s main argument

2) accurate use of information (examples, details/specifics, quotes, etc.) from Chapters 1-12 in Robin DiAngelo’s book, White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism to support your opinions/ideas

3) thoughtful, sophisticated analysis and discussion of the details you’ve included from Robin DiAngelo’s book (Show your own insight and ideas! Do NOT simply repeat and retell what DiAngelo has already stated in his book.

4) development of your own ideas with coherent and clear explanations in a minimum of 4 body paragraphs (Again, do NOT simply summarize the details from the book. Use details from Robin DiAngelo’s chapters in conjunction with your own ideas/observations/opinions. Your own insight and ideas are needed to explain why you have the opinions you have and how the details in the book relate to your own opinions and ideas.

5) unity (Information, ideas, analysis, explanations and so forth must stay focused on supporting your thesis.)

6) coherence (Use transitions/strong connections to link ideas between your paragraphs and within your paragraphs.)

7) organization (Ideas must follow a logical organizational pattern. Don’t jump around from one idea to the next. Have a clear, logical progression in your thoughts. Outlining/prewriting will really help here.)

8) clarity and presentation— crisp and clear word usage, sentences, logic, format, structure and so on

9) proofreading, editing, correctness, and sentence sophistication—correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar, as well as varied and sophisticated sentence structures—Get help outside of class! Final drafts should be error-free.

10) accurate and correct citations and formatting of quoted material and Works Cited page using MLA standards

11) an original and creative title for your essay

Use 5 sources from below: 1. Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of

Colorblindness (2010)

2. Anderson, Carol. White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide (2016)

3. Coates, Ta-Nehisi. Between the World and Me. (2015)

4. “The Case for Reparations”-Atlantic, June 2014

5. Feagin, Joe R. The White Racial Frame: Centuries of Racial Framing and

Counter-Framing. (2013)

6. Loewen, James W. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History

Textbooks Got Wrong. (2018)

7. Moore, Eddie, Ali Michael, and Marguerite W.Penick-Parks.The Guide for White

Women Who Teach Black Boys. (2017)