A state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves, including the outward display of emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and behaviors such as argumentation, silence, and leaving the stress-inducing situation. An example of this could be a Black person pointing out a white person’s problematic or racist behavior and the white person immediately jumping to defend themselves, making excuses and crying instead of listening and accepting what the other person is saying. The term has gained popularity as a result of Robin DiAngelo, a researcher and author of the book “White Fragility.”
