Building True Allies - Nikki Silvestri

 

An ally, from the Latin verb meaning “to bind to,” is described as someone who supports disenfranchised and underrepresented groups of people within our own country (Dictionary.com). 

 

How To Be An Ally

 

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 (The Anti-Oppression Network, PeerNetBC).

• Allyship begins when a person of privilege seeks to support a marginalized group or individual 
• Allyship is not an identity but rather it is a lifelong process of building relationships based on trust, consistency, and accountability with marginalized individuals and/or groups of people
• Allyship is not self-defined meaning that our work and our efforts must be recognized by the people we seek to ally ourselves with.

 

5 Tips For Being An Ally

 

From the Guide to Allyship - How to be an ally is to: 

1. Take on the struggle as your own 
2. Transfer the benefits of your privilege to those who lack it.
3. Amplify voices of the oppressed before your own.
4. Acknowledge that even though you feel pain, the conversation is not about you.
5. Stand up, even when you feel scared.
6. Own your mistakes and de-center yourself.
7. Understand that your education is up to you and no one else.

 

Additional Readings: 

• Vox - How to be a good white ally, according to activists
• The Root - 12 Ways to Be a White Ally to Black People 
• Sojourners - For our white friends desiring to be allies

• The Real Work of Being an Ally

 

Performative Allyship

Performative Allyship also called ally theater or optical allyship, is when a member of the majority or privileged group professes support and solidarity with a marginalized group in a way that either isn’t helpful or that actively harms that group. Performative allyship usually involves the “ally” receiving some kind of reward — on social media, it’s that virtual pat on the back for being a “good person” or “on the right side" (Phillips, H., 2020).

 

DELETE YOUR BLACK SQUARES! | A lesson on performative allyship

 

Turn Performative Wokeness Into Allyship

 

Additional Readings:

• Black employees say ‘performative allyship’ is an unchecked problem in the office - Karen Yuan 
• Blackout Tuesday' on Instagram was a teachable moment for allies like me - Natasha Noman
• Dear White People: Here’s how to be a REAL ally instead of just playing one on social media - Blue Telusma