How can I say that if you are white, your opinions on racism are most likely ignorant, when I don't even know you? I can say so because nothing in mainstream US culture gives us the information we need to have a nuanced understanding of arguably the most complex and enduring social dynamic of the last several hundred years."
-- Robin Diangelo (chapter 1 paragraph 1)

Importance: The author contends that everyone grows up in a system with institutionalized racism. We are surrounded by racist ideas, images, writings, jokes, and other forms of racism from the time we are born. Therefore, by definition, everyone is racist. This is one of the author's main contentions, and she writes that it should make us realize that we all need correction and education. While many white progressives state that they are not racist because they do not engage in violent actions, the author responds that we are so immersed in the...