In our last post, we broke down the concepts of ally, accomplice, and co-conspirator. Here, we are going to dig into allyship a bit more.
For many of us, we're still working to feel confident in ally work. We might feel ourselves recoil at the idea of "accomplices" and "co-conspirators" because it feels unattainable or like the work we have already done isn't valuable. It's okay to have those feelings, but rest assured that this work, like everything else, is not about an end point; we will always have room for growth. When we feel disheartened, we can look back at where we were, feel pride in how far we've come, and use that energy to propel ourselves forward. Think of being an ally as a strong foundation. Now we can build atop it. Colorado Virtual Library provides a great overview of allyship. This article was published in 2021, and as we know things change quickly. However, this is still a wonderful starting place. Some highlights: On intersectionality: "The key takeaway is remembering that our positions of privilege and marginalization are fluid—they are heavily situational (and intersectional), and some people overall may experience more marginalization than privilege, or vice versa." On systemic oppression: " The goal may be to consciously exclude another identity or it may happen subconsciously, as a result of inequitable policies or norms. Societal institutions are then created around those power structures and the marginalization becomes normalized in the culture as 'how society works.'" On allyship: "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.” Abbreviated do/don't list:
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