Posted: August 21, 2020   •   Posted in: Discussions

White Fragility – a discussion

What is White Fragility?

We had a Zoom discussion on this topic on August.   We were grateful to a Friend from Norwich Meeting who led us into the discussion.  We touched on areas which are often are uncomfortable to face, such as unconscious racism and the privilege bestowed by being white. We heard examples of systemic racism built in to institutions.  We heard how universities are challenging this by ‘decolonising’ the curriculum.

But what as individuals can we do about it?

We were encouraged to think more about our own possible thoughtlessness and the judgements we unconsciously make of others.  In the words of our facilitator we should always take care to ‘check our privilege’.  We should make sure decisions are not made solely from one perspective.

For many Friends this short discussion was just a beginning.  Many were keen to explore this further.

For further reading a book by Robin Diangelo was recommended:  ‘White Fragility – Why it’s so Hard for White People to talk about Racism’.

We were also recommended to watch writer Michaela Coel delivering the McTaggart lecture which is available on Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odusP8gmqsg