Something about Allyship

 

Written by Moyin Ekundayo 

Hello again. Thank you for taking your time to engage with the first piece about taking the knee. 

You might now be thinking multiple things (Roughly). Wow-what a great first piece I have learned a lot more than I thought. What more can I know, do or understand. or What a load of ****. 

Well, I hope that you are in the first camp and thank you.

This piece is more about allyship, what it means, how to be an effective ally and what practising allyship means.

Allies tend to come from positions of "dominance" now. I use that word liberally because it does not mean a group is superior or more important than the other. But one group is represented more in an environment than the other, e.g. Heterosexuals working toward equal rights in support of gay, lesbian and bisexual people or Able-bodied individuals involved with disabled individuals to get more accessible entries and exits at a place of work. 

Overcoming Barriers- Jack Moreh

Going against an established culture can be a difficult hurdle to overcome. However, those privileged in a given community have the unique opportunity to make significant changes with small and great actions. You might have read that and thought, wait, what exactly is privileged? This can mean many things, but for the purpose of our' conversation', it could mean an advantage or peculiar benefit attached to a specific position. 

Privilege in the context we are talking about is the absence of inconvenience or challenge. You overlook certain obstructions due to your privilege. 

Let's try and give you an example: 

Tom is able-bodied and is going to meet his friend Katherine who has Muscular Dystrophy (M.D). Tom has arranged the day. However, unfortunately, the first location does not have accessible access, so Katherine cannot enter. They decide to go somewhere else. However, after a while, they find somewhere that they can both access. Tom has understood the daily inconvenience of Katherine's everyday life and understood the ignorance he had previously and the privilege he has in the world he lives in that others do not. 

or 

If John has three apples and Rahim has four apples, Rahim is more privileged than John; however, let's add more context. Rahim's four apples were gained via working hours upon hours whilst Johns's apples were passed down. Now we see that John is privileged. We can go on and on weighing up differences in John's and Rahim's life, but we must recognise that privilege plays a part. 

We all have some sort of privilege. However, privilege does not mean you have never faced adversity. It is also possible that your life is complicated. Privilege is not a bad word or concept. Understanding and accepting it allows us to think about others, what barriers might be in place, and what we can do about them.

To paraphrase lightly from Reason et al. in 'Developing Social Justice Allies, 2005', "Allies have hands-on/interactive personalities, they have their feet in the worlds of both the dominant and the oppressed. They need to continually and accurately judge when it is most appropriate, to listen, speak up, or withdraw from the discussion".

However, this in itself is a privilege. For example, 

A black activist might be labelled as "too emotional" or "angry," whilst an ally will have the ability to emotionally express their views about their activism without such negative overtones.

Whilst many activists have been honoured for their work, many counter-parts from the disadvantaged group have been denounced or derided in comparison. 

Others perceive the disadvantaged group's struggles as that of the ally/ activist due to paraphrasing or exploiting the analysis of the groups' liberation. 

These examples are not intended to say that allies are pretentious but to highlight the contradictions and difficulty of allyship. As mentioned earlier, allies have both feet in different camps, so they have to ask themselves, What right do I have to this work? Why am I doing this? 

Allies have to think about how they position themselves, to whom the benefits of their work accumulate from engaging in perceived allyship work, and the implication of the populations to who they are an ally.

Allies are positioned to call attention to issues but should understand how their day-to-day actions, behaviours, and attitudes combat or reinforce inequity. 

Blackout Tuesday

Being an ally is more than words. It is engaging in actions that disrupt oppressive structures and understanding one's social position in oppression. 

So you posted a Blackout Tuesday image on Instagram? Does that make you an ally? Yes, I guess so. However, it is critical to note that this is allyship for self-interest as coined by Keith Edwards, 2006; he explains that "Allies for self-interest serve those with whom they have personal relationships, and lack awareness of systemic oppression and their own complicity". 

Without sounding rude, what purpose did it serve? It was a trend that gained momentum because people saw others were doing it, and one did not want to be seen as racist or not caring, so they jumped on. This is equivalent to the I have black friend's flex. 

Then you have individuals who are altruistic allies. They are people that have an awareness of an issue but project oppressive behaviours on others. They distance themselves and become defensive when confronted with the oppressive behaviours they have fostered. They want to be perceived as selfless heroes to non-dominant populations. 

These individuals are the type of people to say they are not homophobic but have friends that make offensive homophobic comments. They are content in their self-righteousness but allow others around them to perpetuate offensive ideologies. As the famous quote goes, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

The final type of ally Edwards talks about is the ally for social justice. They recognise the association of oppressive structures and work in partnership with marginalised persons to build social justice alliances. They aspire to move beyond individual acts and direct attention to unjust processes and systems. Their pursuit is not merely to help oppressed persons but to create a socially just world that benefits everyone.

This is the type of ally we all want to be. Well, I think we all want to be. We want the world to be a better place. 

For me, the key to being an effective ally is understanding that other people are having real human experiences. Their experiences might be similar to mine or might be completely different. Still, I know the difficulties of my human experience, and this is where empathy plays a role in allyship.

Remember being an ally does not solely mean being anti-racist or anti-sexist it is anti-oppression of any kind.

If you have made it all the way over here, well, wow, thanks for reading my thoughts and rambles. You might be thinking, how can I be this effective ally? Well, here are a few things I hope will help you on your way: 

1. 
   
   Educate yourself (I mean, if you have read this technically, you are making the proper steps, but more education is never a bad thing).
2. Own your privilege (As previously mentioned, privilege is not wrong. I have some privileges compared to others, and I understand it and accept it and use them to help out where possible.)
3. Accept feedback (Seek feedback from people from marginalised groups, but recognise that not everyone from a marginalised group thinks the same or owes you an answer. There is also a power dynamic at play here. It is essential to first build trust) 
4. Do not be a performative or self-interest ally.
5. Speak up in your social groups 
6. Be ready to feel uncomfortable and learn from your mistakes (You will not always understand an issue or might be uncomfortable hearing experiences of people from marginalised individuals but remember these are their experiences).

Thank you for reading again. If you are willing to read more or want to understand more, please follow some of the references and additions reading list: 

8 ways to be a better Ally by Cecelia Kersten.

Be a Better Ally by Tsedale M. Melaku, Angie Beeman, David G. Smith, and W. Brad Johnson.

Guide to Allyship by Amélie Lamont.

Allyship - The Key To Unlocking The Power Of Diversity by Sheree Atcheson.

Allyship - Anti-oppression network.

What to Know About Allyship—And Why It's More Important Than Ever by Claire Gillespie.

‘It’s not about you: how to be a male ally' by Meredith Nash, Robyn Moore, Ruby Grant and Tania Winzenberg.

How men can be allies to women right now by Stephen Burrell, Nicole Westmarland and Sandy Ruxton.