14 Facts About Robin DiAngelo

Robin Jeanne DiAngelo is an American author working in the fields of critical discourse analysis and whiteness studies.

Robin DiAngelo formerly served as a tenured professor of multicultural education at Westfield State University and is currently an affiliate associate professor of education at the University of Washington.

Robin DiAngelo is known for her work pertaining to "white fragility", an expression she coined in 2011 and explored further in a 2018 book titled White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism.

DiAngelo was born Robin Jeanne Taylor into a working-class family in San Jose, California, the youngest of three daughters born to Robert Z Taylor and Maryanne Jeanne DiAngelo.

Robin DiAngelo lived with her mother in poverty until her mother's death from cancer, after which she and her siblings lived with her father.

Robin DiAngelo became a single mother with one child in her mid-20s, and worked as a waitress before beginning college at the age of 30.

In 2018, DiAngelo stated that her "experience of poverty would have been different had [she] not been white".

Robin DiAngelo now serves as affiliate associate professor of education at the University of Washington.

For over twenty years, Robin DiAngelo has offered racial justice training for schools, nonprofit organizations, universities, and businesses, arguing that racism is embedded throughout American political systems and culture.

Robin DiAngelo has published a number of academic articles and books on race, privilege, and education.

That year, Robin DiAngelo published a paper titled "White Fragility" in The International Journal of Critical Pedagogy, thereby coining the term.

Robin DiAngelo has defined the concept of white fragility as "a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves".

In June 2018, Robin DiAngelo published White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, which debuted on the New York Times bestseller list and remained there for one hundred fifty-five weeks.

In June 2021, Robin DiAngelo published Nice Racism: How Progressive White People Perpetuate Racial Harm, a continuation of White Fragility.