Robin DiAngelo, the author of the bestseller “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard For White People To Talk About Racism,” reportedly has not responded to a request that she debate famed human rights activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a native of Somalia, on the subject of so-called “systemic racism.” If DiAngelo agreed to the debate, at least $22,000 would be sent to some of Kenya’s most underprivileged children.
Helen Pluckrose — who along with James A. Lindsay and Peter Boghossian initiated a celebrated project in which they submitted fake academic papers to peer-reviewed journals in cultural, gender, queer, and race studies to see if they would get published — noted on Twitter on Wednesday:
Hey everyone. DiAngelo has made no response to this request even though by doing it, she would enable $22,000 to provide education for some of Kenya’s most underprivileged children. Can we increase the pledge & appeal to her commitment to social justice?
Hey everyone. DiAngelo has made no response to this request even though by doing it, she would enable $22,000 to provide education for some of Kenya's most underprivileged children. Can we increase the pledge & appeal to her commitment to social justice? https://t.co/T0gaXr5Io6
— Helen Pluckrose (@HPluckrose) June 3, 2021
The GoFundMe project offering the debate states:
Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Professor DiAngelo are invited to a public conversation on the topic of systemic racism. If the conversation happens proceeds go to Starhe: a charity providing Kenya’s brightest underprivileged children with a quality education. …
The GoFundMe page notes of Hirsi Ali that she is “a best-selling author and human rights activist. As a proponent of individualism, she has expressed concerns about identity politics and its capacity to erode our sense of common humanity.”
“The conversation must take place on a public medium, and will be available to you whether or not you back this campaign,” the page reads. “We suggest a video conversation (live-streamed and recorded) but we’re happy to consider alternatives suggested by the conversationalists.”
The GoFundMe page notes the campaign deadline is June 18, 2021, adding that if the conversation occurs before the deadline, proceeds are given to charity. If the debate does not occur before the deadline, people who donated will not be charged, but can choose to donate to charity.
The Daily Wire noted in late November 2020:
Robin DiAngelo, author of the bestselling book, “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism,” has seen her star rise as more people on the Left seek to learn more about how white people are inherently racist. Her website describes “white fragility” as “a state in which even a minimal challenge to the white position becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive responses. These responses function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and maintain white control.”
The book has allowed DiAngelo to rake in speaking fees, where she charges up to $30,000 for a 60- to 90-minute speech. Her book also earned more than $2 million in sales.
In March, Hirsi Ali joined other intellectuals — including Megyn Kelly, Bari Weiss, Steven Pinker, Glenn Loury, John McWhorter, Peter Boghossian, and Coleman Hughes — to found the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism, a non-partisan organization dedicated to “advancing civil rights and liberties for all Americans, and promoting a common culture based on fairness, understanding and humanity.” The organization’s website says it opposes critical race theory because “it pits us against one another and diminishes what it means to be human.”