America’s top anti-racism expert has been accused of plagiarizing the work of two Asian-American colleagues.
Robin DiAngelo, author of the seminal text White Fragility, allegedly plagiarized several academics, including minority writers, in her 2004 doctoral dissertation.
TO complaint filed with the University of Washington and shared with the Washington Free Beacon found 20 examples of DiAngelo taking material from other newspapers without proper attribution.
This included material from two Asian American professors: Professor Stacey Lee of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Professor Thomas Nakayama of Northeastern University.
The allegations are particularly damaging to DiAngelo, 67, who has spoken out about the need to give credit and attribution for the work of others, especially minorities who are often overlooked.
Robin DiAngelo, author of the seminal text White Fragility, allegedly plagiarized several academics in her doctoral dissertation.
She rose to prominence with the publication of her 2018 New York Times bestselling book, White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism.
“It is never appropriate to use secondary sources without acknowledging them, and even worse to present them as if they were one’s own words,” said Peter Wood, president of the National Association of Scholars. The exit.
“That’s plagiarism.”
DiAngelo, Nakayama, Lee and the university did not respond to The Mail’s requests for comment.
The complaint drew attention to DiAngelo’s dissertation, titled “Whiteness in Racial Dialogue: A Discourse Analysis,” which formed the basis of her doctorate in education.
It highlights large excerpts from his work next to the text he is accused of copying, with the similarities highlighted in yellow.
The University of Washington says plagiarism is “borrowing another author’s sentence or phrase structure” without giving credit, or citing a source but copying its words without quotation marks.
The scholar uses the title Dr. DiAngelo earned for that essay and calls herself an affiliate associate professor of education at the university.
She also charges tens of thousands of dollars for anti-racism consulting sessions.
The report highlighted how DiAngelo’s website emphasized the importance of crediting Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) people and promoting their work.
“Promote the work and services of BIPOC people,” DiAngelo’s website says.
‘Direct work towards BIPOC people. Seek out and choose BIPOC-owned businesses and service providers. Co-direct paid work with BIPOC people when possible.’
Northeastern University professor Thomas Nakayama is one of the scholars whose work was allegedly stolen.
Another Asian-American academic, Professor Stacey Lee of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is also said to have had her words stolen.
She adds: ‘Always cite and acknowledge the work of BIPOC people who have influenced your thinking. When you use a phrase or idea that you got from a BIPOC person, give them credit.’
DiAngelo rose to fame with the publication of her 2018 New York Times bestselling book, White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism.
The book critiques the continued failure of white people to account for and redress past injustices against minorities, and how they become defensive and fragile when challenged about them.
It gained renewed interest and became a more mainstream concept during the summer of 2020 following the police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, in Minneapolis.
The phrase “White Fragility” comes from DiAngelo’s thesis.
“White fragility is a state in which even a minimal amount of racial stress becomes intolerable and triggers a series of defensive moves,” DiAngelo wrote.
‘These movements include the external manifestation of emotions such as anger, fear and guilt, and behaviors such as arguing, silence and leaving the stressful situation.’
The revelations followed several accusations of plagiarism against prominent Ivy League academics.
In particular, the Free Beacon reported on dozens of allegations against then-Harvard President Claudine Gay in 2023, who was forced to resign in January.
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