Reinventing Racism: Why "White Fragility" Is the Wrong Way to Think About Racial Inequality

The theory of white fragility is one of the most influential ideas to emerge in recent years on the topics of race, racism, and racial inequality. White fragility is defined as an unwillingness on the part of white people to engage in the difficult conversations necessary to address racial inequality. This “fragility” allegedly undermines the fight against racial inequality.

Despite its wide acclaim and rapid acceptance, the theory of white fragility has received no serious and sustained scr...