Allyship - It's More Than Just A Word

​When you hear the word Ally, what do you think of? What comes to mind? According to the Anti-Oppression network, allyship is “an active, consistent, and arduous practice of unlearning and re-evaluating, in which a person in a position of privilege and power seeks to operate in solidarity with a marginalized group”. There are many identities that can be considered marginalized, so there’s ample opportunity to utilize your privilege and power. 

As with anything else, there are ways to be an ineffective and effective ally. It’s hard to be effective if you aren’t willing to listen and learn.  You’ll never know more about what a community needs, than the members of that community, so the first step in allyship is listening. Imagine you’re trying to explain to your partner that you stubbed your toe, and that you need an ace bandage. They turn around tell you that a friend of theirs had something similar and they didn’t need an ace bandage. You’re just being sensitive. None of that is helpful and would probably cause you to hesitate to go to them again if you needed assistance. Well Cassandra if I’m not allowed to offer my opinion, what can I do as an ally?  You can listen. Listen to what your friends, family, colleagues tell you that they need. Sometimes what they may need from you is nothing. As an ally, there will be times when you’ll need to take a step back and allow the community to speak for themselves. 

Following the murder of George Floyd many companies put out statements, changed their logos/mascots. Every June, major corporations change their logos to reflect Pride month. However, do those same companies have Black or LGBTQ board members? Do those same companies have benefits that align with the needs of the LGBTQ staff members? Those companies are engaging in performative allyship. That’s when those in a non-marginalized group profess solidarity in a way that is not helpful. Allyship is a consistent, lifelong practice. It doesn’t pop up for 30 days and then disappear for the other 335. There is no such thing as a perfect ally. There will be times when you make a misstep and may get called out. It happens to the best of us, even yours truly. The key is to look at that as a gift. This person wants you to be better, so they are correcting you, so you don’t continue to make that mistake. It can be tempting to feel resentful after receiving this feedback, because you’re doing all that you can, but it’s still not enough. Resist the urge to make it about you. 

​Allyship can be daunting. We all want to do the right thing, so I’m going to list some resources to help us on this allyship journey. 

ARTICLE	BOOK	FILMS	VIDEO
Allan Johnson, Excerpt from Privilege: Power and Difference	Courageous Conversations About Race: A Field Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools, 2nd Edition (2015) Glenn Singleton	Reconstruction, PBS based on book by Eric Foner	White Lies We Tell Our Children, Colin Stokes
Frances E. Kendall, How to Be an Ally if You Are a Person with Privilege	Woke Church: An Urgent Call for Christians in America to Confront Racism and Injustice, Eric Mason	I’m Not Racist Am I?, Andre Lee	5 Tips For Being an Ally, Franchesca Ramsey
Margaret Biser, I used to lead tours on a plantation.  You wouldn’t believe the questions I got about slavery.	Privilege: Power and Difference, Allan Johnson	The Color of Fear, Lee Mun Wah	Introduction to allyship, VinciWorks