Continuing Difficult But Necessary Conversations on Race: Takeaways From the D&I SIG Book Club on 'White Fragility,' by Robin DiAngelo

As part of LMA’s commitment to engage in meaningful dialogue, the Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Shared Interest Group (SIG) hosted their first book club this summer, featuring “White Fragility” by Robin DiAngelo. Given the events that have occurred over the past several months, the conversation focused on how we view racial dynamics.

As DiAngelo noted, “[r]ace relations are profoundly complex.” The systems of racism are deeply embedded in American institutions. What I also realized during the discussion is that these systems are also strongly embedded in the legal industry. While diversity and inclusion themes are growing in law firm settings, we still have a long way to go to achieve equality and equity for diverse individuals.

Co-facilitators Kathleen Brieske and Tara Marshall led the conversation by engaging attendees through a series of journaling exercises. Many of the questions were piercing and meant to drive meaningful conversation. While some questions may have placed attendees outside their comfort zone, the exercise ultimately encouraged us to have a frank discussion about how white people view diverse individuals and how their intentions often don’t reflect the impact they intend to achieve. Attendees had an opportunity to talk about those experiences where the “white fragility” take on race relations became the de facto best practice of how we handle racial issues. For example, Black women changing their natural hair to conform to white views of hairstyles, women of color bleaching their faces to become “whiter” and ethnic women deciding not to wear cultural apparel to conform to social norms.

The author cites Ruth Frankenberg’s description of whiteness as “a location of structural advantage, a standpoint from which white people look at ourselves, at others and at society, and a set of cultural practices that are not named or acknowledged.” These descriptions set the tone for the facilitators’ conversation points, which were opportunities to open the door to reevaluating the cornerstone concepts of racism that could be dismantled. We talked about how diverse individuals feel the need to assimilate to be more “white-like” and how this mindset works as the measure of success for diverse individuals by white society. Attendees also discussed their experiences in trying to deny their cultural norms in order to focus on being accepted into what white society perceives as success or achievement.

In reflecting on the journaling exercises, the question that drove one of my eye-opening moments was: “What has previously been invisible or hidden from your perception?” Attendees shared examples of where a white colleague had to validate our suggestions or ideas, as though we needed an advocate to provide credibility in areas where a diverse person was a subject matter expert. The sense that non-white legal marketers are still needing validation was disappointing to hear, but it was also edifying given this experience was shared by more than half the attendees. Additionally, the facilitators talked about the myths that were useful to white people — to obscure the historical brutality against African-Americans and to justify continued abuse. DiAngelo mentions this metaphor, “Jackie Robinson, the first black man whites allowed to play baseball.” This version highlights the racism that people of color and ethnic minorities face, as they are trying to enter into an institution that is controlled by the majority.

Because the book club was not recorded, attendees had the opportunity to engage in an open and frank conversation about race and how our individual experiences effect our work. Several attendees shared their experiences in dealing with the development of a diversity program in their respective firms, while others shared their frustrations with how firms often limit diversity wins to narrow perspectives by selecting token lawyers to join proposals rather than focusing on building strong, diverse teams that can immediately be deployed on client work. We talked about how to engage the leaders of our firms to take a deeper look at diversity from a more holistic view, rather than just focusing on gender. We discussed how we could combat the racial prejudice that sneaks into our work lives through unconscious bias by being advocates for learning and understanding.

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"Each of us realized the importance of having a seat at the table, but also being the change-makers or at least trying to effectuate change through education and persistence."

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Each of us realized the importance of having a seat at the table, but also being the change-makers or at least trying to effectuate change through education and persistence. This book club has emboldened my resolve to continue the difficult conversations about diversity and inclusion; only then will we see the change in mindset that we seek.