CNN has always frustrated me with their "Black in America" series. Their ability to identify the "black" race as unique is supported by contemporary quips like, "it's a black thang, you wouldn't understand." They are not alone. On any news outlet on pretty much any day, there will be a discussion of some issue or topic with "race" as the theme; whether it is a police officer shooting, a court decision, the reporting of statistics for certain communities or the comparison of unemployment numbers. "Race" is everywhere. Sadly, most people use the term and few have ever contemplated the origin of the term and what the term actually means. So before you start having "race" discussions, you should
Robin Diangelo's White Fragility makes the case for why it is so difficult for "white" people to talk about "racism," a claim based on the idea that "whites" don't see themselves as "racial." Uhm, imagine that. This is what she refers to as "fragility." With her definition of fragility in mind, I posit that they are not alone in their fragile state. Even as I write this blog post, I consider the triggering responses that I will get from "black" people when I explain basic issues like, "why black children should have role models and not "black" role models, or why we should have "history" month and not "black" history month." Talk about triggering? The less triggered will simply shake their h
