"The anxiety that exists for Whites concerning the subject of race

should not be underestimated. It is high even for those who believe they

have mastered their biases and especially for those who have made the

commitment to self-confrontation. For although many would like to

believe they are free of racial prejudice and want to view it as operative

only in instances of blatant bigotry, there is tension about checking this

out . . . They tend instead to plead ignorance and to protest that they

have never had to think about the meaning of being White."

Elaine Pinderhughes, Understanding Race, Ethnicity, and Power: The Key to  Efficacy in Clinical Practice (New York: The Free Press, 1989).