Bookmarked: Jennifer McCabe

Director and chief curator at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art

Recommends:

“White Fragility” by Robin DiAngelo

Her Take

“Amid the national debate on systemic racism and police violence, I am rereading ‘White Fragility.’ Apparently, I’m not alone as it’s one of many books tackling the difficult topic of race in the United States that is currently on top of the New York Times Best Sellers List for Nonfiction. In ‘White Fragility,’ the academic, lecturer and longtime consultant on issues of racial and social injustice DiAngelo tackles the subject of race from the perspective of whiteness and interrogates those of us who are white, well-intentioned and understand ourselves as openly embracing equity and diversity. The book exposes how we must do more as a society, especially as white people, to dismantle institutional racism.

While I would definitely recommend reading additional books on race by Black authors, this book is a good entry point to a challenging and complex subject. It is intended to push the reader to be self-reflexive and acknowledge our role, whether conscious or not, in upholding white supremacy. 2020 will go down as a watershed year, no doubt. I hope we don’t lose the momentum to reemerge as a stronger and more resilient community.”