With recent global events and tragedies, many people are becoming more aware and educating themselves on the oppression that marginalized individuals and/or groups experience. With increased understanding, many people want to become allies, but the question is, what exactly is an ally?
Ally-ship is a lifelong process of building relationships based on trust, consistency, and accountability with marginalized individuals and/or groups. While allies generally don‘t experience oppression, they understand that they must always carry the weight of it and support those who experience it everyday. There are several guides available that outline more deeply what it means to be an ally, including
the
Indigenous Ally Toolkit, this
guide to ally-ship website, the
Groundwork for Change website, and books such as
White Fragility by
Robin DiAngelo or
Decolonize First, a liberating guide and workbook for peeling back the layers of neocolonialism by Ta7talíya Michelle Nahanee.
