White Fragility: Why It Is so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo discusses the responsibility of white Americans for the racism that is prevalent in the United States. The basic thesis is that whites are in power and possession of this power makes them the responsible parties. She gives many examples of how whites possess and use their power to both actively and passively perpetuate racism. She claims that way too many whites passively accept the status quo of de facto segregation and white privilege. If you are white and you are not actively working on the solution, you are part of the problem. Non action perpetuates racism.
Being a white male in the United States I can see how the idea of passive acceptance being part of the problem extends well beyond racism. Sexism is another area where ignoring the problem perpetuates the problem. We ignore the portrayal of women in the media. We ignore the unequal treatment of boys and girls in school. We ignore inequality of roles of men and women in the workplace and home.
In the United States white men have the power. Whether it be the government, business, or law enforcement/military, white men are the controllers. This fact of their power makes white males responsible parties for racism and sexism. This power also extends to the growing divide between the rich and the poor. It extends to subjugation of huge labor forces throughout the world. It extends to the ecology of the planet. It is true on many levels, if we are not part of the solution, we are part of the problem because we are the ones who have to power to make change.
The concept of leadership and service to the dear neighbor mandates the teachers at Carondelet participate in achieving the solutions and in teaching our students about the problems and how to participate in achieving the solutions. In many ways we are doing this, but there is so much more we can do. We can follow the lead of White Fragility and examine how much harm we commit by simply passively accepting the status quo and how much good we can accomplish by advocating for change across a broad spectrum of issues.