Allyship

Today, a deeper reflection about my desired role as a true ally.

My road is still long and bumpy, but I’m firmly committed.

The following lines are taken from the book The Wake up by Michelle Mijung Kim)

Allyship is an active and consistent practice of using power and privilege to achieve equity, inclusion, and justice while holding ourselves accountable to marginalized people’s needs.

Allyship is an active practice that requires consistency

* It is a practice, not a permanent identity we get to claim.

* It is not passive. Believing in the values of diversity, inclusion, and equity is great, but it is not enough to just believe we must actively live those values through concrete actions and behaviors.

* It is practiced consistently and over time.

Allyship requires self-awareness around power and privilege.

* It asks us to recognize our multidimensional identities that marginalize and privilege us in different ways.

* It is built on the foundational understanding that our society has not distributed power and privilege equally among different social groups.

Allyship's purpose is to achieve equity, inclusion, and justice.

* It is not to self-congratulate, promote, or validate one's virtue.

* It is not about "saving" anyone from a place of superiority; rather, it's about working toward equity, inclusion, and justice for all marginalized people.

Allyship requires us to practice accountability.

* It is about understanding the needs of marginalized people and aligning our actions to meet those needs.

* It is not allyship if we fail to prioritize or advance marginalized people's needs.

* It is practicing accountability when we make a mistake or cause harm by reflecting, apologizing, repairing, and course-correcting

Allyship is an active and consistent practice of using power and privilege to achieve equity, inclusion, and justice while holding ourselves accountable to marginalized people’s needs.