Robin DiAngelo, the author of White Fragility and a vocal critic of White people, is now being accused of plagiarism involving minority scholars. The University of Washington received a complaint outlining 20 instances of alleged plagiarism in DiAngelo’s 2004 thesis.
Critics see this as a glaring example of hypocrisy, as DiAngelo has built her career accusing White people of exploiting minorities while allegedly doing the same herself.
The complaint highlights sections of her thesis that are nearly identical to work by Asian-American scholars like Thomas Nakayama and Stacey Lee. Peter Wood, president of the National Association of Scholars, stated that such behavior constitutes academic “forgery” and directly contradicts DiAngelo’s professed values. The accusations raise serious questions about whether DiAngelo’s anti-White activism is more about self-enrichment than genuine concern for racial justice.
DiAngelo’s fame skyrocketed following George Floyd’s death, when her book White Fragility became a must-read for those looking to adopt anti-White rhetoric. Her influence has extended to corporate training sessions and educational programs, where her teachings have been used to guilt White people into accepting blame for systemic racism. However, the plagiarism allegations suggest that DiAngelo’s rise to prominence was built on the very exploitation she condemns.
The irony of DiAngelo’s situation is hard to ignore. While she lectures White people about their complicity in racism, she is now accused of plagiarizing minority voices for personal gain. As the university investigates, her credibility is increasingly in doubt, exposing the contradictions within the anti-White movement.
