HOW TO BE AN ALLY
March 7, 2023
To have privilege is to feel you belong. It is a sense of rightness and comfort. A surety about the way the world works and your place in it.
Most of us have privilege in some way or another. The important thing is to acknowledge privilege and recognise others may not share this privilege. How can you acknowledge your privilege? This can be quite uncomfortable but it is the first step toward becoming an ally and understanding what most marginalised folk deal with on a daily basis to some degree.
Here are three more things you can do to be an ally:
Educate yourself. Read up on what it means to be an ally. Watch documentaries and listen to podcasts. There is a huge amount of information out there about the experience of BIPOC folk and the impact of colonisation and segregation.
Be curious about the experiences of those around you. This can be tough, but try stepping out of your worldview and really listening to the experiences of your BIPOC friends and colleagues. Recognise how different their experience is from yours.
Remember your role is not to rescue but to empower. Rescuing actually reinforces destructive power dynamics. Instead ask how you can empower and support your BIPOC friends and colleagues. This is how you become an ally.
In honour of Black History Month, commit to one of these actions. As you open yourself to being more understanding of others, you open yourself to deeper connections with the people around you and this ultimately builds a cohesive and supportive community.
Written by Kim Foster Yardley, MA C Psych, MPC