Racial Justice Allies

Recognize and value racial, ethnic, and cultural differences.

Believe White people have the unique power to uplift, edify and strengthen others.

Are willing to be vulnerable and challenge own internal racism.

See themselves as uniquely qualified to bring necessary change.

Are passionate about disrupting and correcting patterns of injustice.

Have paternalistic attitudes toward people of color.

Examples:

Examples: 

Realizing that automatic assumptions or thoughts have been shaped by a lifetime of racist messages and treating one’s attitudes with skepticism.

Expecting clinical research trials to have a licensed psychiatrist or doctor on the team but not an Indigenous healer or shaman.

Developing a mindful stance of noticing and observing associations with race without assuming such thoughts are true.

Adopting a BIPOC child with no effort to expose the child their original language or culture, believing White Western culture is adequate or superior.

Are motivated by values surrounding equity, inclusion, and diversity.

Are motivated by White guilt, reputational benefits, or personal glorification.

Act out of genuine care and concern for the wellbeing of BIPOC in their lives.

Examples:

Examples:

Conducting research that could uncover racism at one’s own institution in order to address it.

Going to a Black Lives Matter protest and posting the selfies on social media to broadcast one’s “allyship”.

Transform White dominated systems such that they are equitable, fair, and just

Help people of color navigate a system of White dominance without changing it.

Maintain cultural humility and freely apologize for missteps.

Broadcast allyship behaviors and sentiments, without accepting criticism.

Step back, avoid centering themselves in situations, and create opportunities for people of color to be centered.

Center themselves and overstate their own relevance.

Examples:

Examples:

Directing questions about specific or technical topics to BIPOC colleagues with subject-matter expertise instead of answering them themselves.

Saying will bring up issues relating to BIPOC with other White colleagues at the next meeting rather than inviting BIPOC to the meeting.

Stepping down from a leadership role to allow it to be filled by a person of color who would benefit professionally.

Organizing a panel presentation about people of color without any people of color on the panel.

Encouraging Black women to set the goals and agenda for a feminist organization traditionally controlled by White women.

A feminist organization using stories of oppressed Black women to garner donations without addressing the different priorities of Black women.

Expect that their education about diversity issues will be a continual process of hard work and self-reflection

Expect acknowledgement, credit and/or glory for efforts.

Anticipate that anti-racism work is an ongoing effort to dismantle individual and institutional beliefs, practices, and polices.

Label themselves “allies” and expect others to agree.

Understand they will receive disapproval and punishment from dominant group members.

Expect BIPOC to be grateful for their good intentions, even if they accidentally cause harm.

Examples:

Examples:

Speaking up if they witness behavior or speech that is degrading or offensive.

Expecting praise and support for writing posts about anti-racism on social media.

Offering support to a BIPOC person without expecting acknowledgement or thanks.

Expecting credit for chairing a diversity committee at their workplace.

Anticipating losing some friends when talking to them about their racist behaviors.

Stopping efforts to recruit BIPOC graduate students after receiving unexpected criticism from higher-ups.

Build meaningful relationships with members of the groups with which they aspire to ally themselves.

Maintain hierarchical or distant relationships with members of the groups with which they wish to ally themselves.

Examples:

Examples:

Checking in with Black friends, partners, colleagues, family when something racist has happened in their lives, and asking if/how to provide support.

Psychology researchers looking for diversity in their participant pool but not in their own research team.

Listening and asking questions when someone describes an experience of racism, without inserting own personal stories or attempting to link a racist experience to a White experience.

Partnering with Black trainees as coauthors but not collaborating with Black scholars of equal rank that might allow open disagreement.

Work to understand the needs of the groups with which they hope to ally themselves and hold themselves accountable to those groups.

Do not hold themselves accountable to the groups with which they claim to ally themselves, but only to their own goals.

Examples:

Examples:

Asking people of color (colleagues, community stakeholders, friends) for constructive criticism of efforts.

Requesting more funding for EDI initiatives without getting feedback from BIPOC on the relevance or success of those initiatives.

Accepting the label of “ally” only from recognized members of the non-dominant groups with which they wish to ally themselves.

Making false or misleading claims about an indigenous heritage in order to create credibility when discussing Native American issues.

Conducting participatory research with communities of color, where BIPOC share equal or greater power in decision making.

Implementing a substance abuse intervention in a community of color without permission from the community leaders.