ALLYSHIP
Allyship is defined as "an active, consistent, and challenging practice of unlearning and reevaluating, in which a person of privilege seeks to work in solidarity with a marginalized group. Allyship is not an identity—it is a lifelong process of building relationships based on trust, consistency, and accountability with marginalized individuals and/or groups.
YOU AND WHITE CENTERING
I was asked the following questions:
How is your worldview a white-centered one?
How have you reacted when whiteness or you as a white person are not centered in spaces and conversations?
How have you judged BIPOC when they do not measure up to white-centered standards?
How have you centered yourself as a person with white privilege in nonwhite spaces and conversations?
What are you beginning to understand about how white centering affects BIPOC?
YOU AND WHITE TOKENISM
I was asked the following questions:
How have you justified your racism by using your proximity to BIPOC?
How have you tokenized BIPOC to prove your words, thoughts, or actions are not racist?
How have you tokenized and weaponized one BIPOC against another BIPOC?
If you are a business owner, how have you tokenized BIPOC or BIPOC culture in your brand?
If you believe you have never tokenized BIPOC, how have you stayed silent when you saw it happening?
When you have lauded organizations or events for being diverse because they appear to have a few BIPOC, how much further have you looked into their actual practices and policies toward BIPOC? How have you mistaken the look of diversity for actual inclusivity and equity?
YOU AND WHITE SAVIORISM
I was asked the following questions:
What white savior narratives have you noticed yourself buying into (whether consciously or unconsciously)?
In what ways have you believed that BIPOC are helpless and require intervention and help from people with white privilege?
In what ways have you tried to intervene or offer instruction or guidance, believing that your (superior white) view would offer the best solutions?
In what ways have you spoken over BIPOC or for them because you felt that you could explain their needs and experiences better than they could? In what ways have you put BIPOC words through a white filter?
How have you unconsciously thought about dismantling racism as something that you needed to give your “help” to as a good white savior?
What has your reaction been when BIPOC have told you or other people with white privilege that they do not need your “help” and that instead they need you to listen, do the work, and follow BIPOC leadership? What reactions have you noticed coming up (e.g., white fragility, tone policing, white exceptionalism, white superiority, etc.)?
YOU AND OPTICAL ALLYSHIP
I was asked the following questions:
How have you practiced optical allyship when it comes to antiracism?
What benefits have you sought out and/or received by practicing optical allyship?
How have you responded when called out for optical allyship?
How have you felt when you have not been rewarded for your acts of optical allyship?
How has your motivation to show up in allyship been dependent upon what other people think about you or how you are perceived?
YOU AND BEING CALLED OUT /CALLED IN
I was asked the following questions:
What have you felt, thought, said, or done when called out/in? How have you centered yourself and your intentions over BIPOC and the impact of your actions?
If it has not happened to you yet, how do you think you will react when it happens, based on your level of self-awareness, personal antiracism work, and white fragility?
When you have been called out/in, how have you handled apologizing and making amends?
What are your biggest fears about being called out/in? Think back over the topics we have covered so far in this book.
What behaviors and beliefs most get in your way of being able to respond appropriately to being called out/in?
WEEK IN REVIEW
