“Sometimes they look through us with a hard, vacant stare after we have said something funny or clever, or when we look even better than we usually do. This look is also employed when it becomes no longer convenient or safe to be allied with us, and can be turned on very quickly…

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Jess Brooks in On Race — isms

Jan 30, 2017

“The black person’s burden of managing white emotions in the age of Trump”

“Demby: I think one of the things that both Jamelle and Tressie are pointing to is the starting premise of the ask, right? I want to have a conversation with you, but I need to first be assured that the…

Jess Brooks in On Race — isms

Dec 15, 2015

“Why White People Downplay Their Individual Racial Privileges”

“in a new study, Stanford researchers found that on an individual level, whites do not think that the privileges extend to them.

The research by L. Taylor Phillips, a PhD student at Stanford…

Jess Brooks in On Race — isms

Sep 10, 2015

“Transforming White Fragility Into Courageous Imperfection”

““White fragility” — it’s a term I had never heard before Saturday night. A friend uttered it in reference to how so many white people respond when challenged about racism, and I felt like someone had turned the lights on. It…

Jess Brooks in On Race — isms

Apr 4, 2015

“Why White People Freak Out When They’re Called Out About Race”

““white fragility,” which she defined in a 2011 journal article as “a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves. These moves include outward display…