How to become an ally: Educators, community leaders explain ways to stand up to anti-Black racism

Messages of solidarity are being shared by people of all races. But what does being an ally really mean?

We’ve seen the protests supporting Black Lives Matter, the black squares posted on social media for “#BlackOutTuesday” and the lists of places you can donate to help — all efforts to shine a light on the systemic and institutional racism faced by Black people. The death of George Floyd, a Black man who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer, has led to renewed calls for change, with protests against systemic anti-Black racism now in their third week in the U.S. and around the world.

Messages of solidarity are being shared by people of all races, who are standing up to be allies.

But what does being an ally mean? According to Handel Kashope Wright with the University of British Columbia’s Centre for Culture, Identity and Education, it’s a person who can stand up and engage “in the struggle of a group that is marginalized against, even though they [the ally] are not a member of that group.” Wright says allies can play a critical role in a movement — but says there are good and bad types of allyship. The good involves being open and listening to the people you are trying to align yourself with.

That’s especially important if you are in a position of power, where you can “use your authority to create a better, more inclusive culture,” Wright says.

Educating yourself — taking the burden off those facing injustice to do the educating — is vital to becoming a good ally, he adds. “Act with humility and take the initiative to do your own research and learn about the cause,” Wright says.

When it comes to good allyship, it’s all about long-term commitment, he adds; a bad ally treats causes like a “flavour of the month” and ultimately loses interest.smael Traore, an anti-racism educator, breaks the concept of allyship into two dimensions.

The first looks at non-compliance, in which, he says, “you’re clear what you’re saying ‘no’ to” — ultimately meaning you reject anything that would lead to racial disparity. The second dimension Traore sees is affirmation. This means working toward increasing the wellbeing of racialized people. Traore refers to several studies that show the more equal a society, the better the life expectancy. The ultimate aim is a balance between races. “It’s not a zero sum game,” says Traore. “Black Lives Matter doesn’t mean white lives don’t matter. To say Black liberation is important doesn’t mean that white bondage is the conclusion of Black liberation.”

cbc.ca/news