Diversity Cafe 2019-2020

Academic article in BMC Public Health, 2019 Addresses privilege and allyship for healthcare professionals to improve patient care. "Health inequities are widespread and persistent, and the root causes are social, political and economic as opposed to exclusively behavioural or genetic. A barrier to transformative change is the tendency to frame these inequities as unfair consequences of social structures that result in disadvantage, without also considering how these same structures give unearned advantage, or privilege, to others. he goal of this article is to advance understanding and action on health inequities and the social determinants of health by introducing a framework for transformative change: the Coin Model of Privilege and Critical Allyship." From abstract

Academic article from Journal of Social Issues, 2016 Discusses the impact intersectional identities have on individuals' decisions to engage in social activism. "Most identity-based models of activism assume that action is motivated either by a disadvantaged identity (predicting own-group activism), or a feeling of solidarity with disadvantaged groups (predicting ally activism). They do not account for advantaged and disadvantaged identifications within the same person. Yet many activists have both advantaged and disadvantaged identities.wo interview studies from Hungary and the United States were used to examine how both disadvantaged and advantaged identities influence politicization and activism (both own-group and ally), via both direct and indirect experiences of marginalization and privilege."

Academic article in Journal of Family Violence, 2019
This synthesis of the primary elements of allyship (as defined by 40 selected activist and academic sources) provides conceptual and practical insights that can be applied to men's gender equity promotion.
"...questions about the usefulness and limitations of the term ‘allyship’ have surfaced. Moreover, studies demonstrate that social justice activists with privilege often perpetuate inequalities, perhaps despite their best intentions. To explicate the current understanding of allyship and to apply it to male activism, this paper synthesized the primary elements of allyship as defined by 40 activist and academic sources. Eight unique and discrete themes surfaced... The implications of this synthesis for allyship discourse and scholarship are offered. This synthesis provides conceptual and practical insights that can be applied to men’s gender equity promotion and gender-based violence prevention work." Broader implications to other kinds of allyship can be drawn from this work.

Episode of the podcast Life Kit and accompanying article with four very basic practical tips to becoming more anti-racist.

"This provocation is intended to intervene in some of the current tensions around solidarity/support work ... Where struggle is commodity, allyship is currency.
Ally has also become an identity, disembodied from any real mutual understanding of support.
The term ally has been rendered ineffective and meaningless." This zine encourages us to shift to becoming accomplices in the anti-racist, anti-colonial struggle and seek to disrupt and dismantle the "ally-industrial complex."

"An ever-evolving and growing open source guide meant to provide you with the resources for becoming a more effective ally."

This document, primarily directed at white people, helpfully organizes resources based on where a person is starting out, whether that is from a belief in colorblindness, a sense of white guilt, a sense of defensiveness around race, a curiosity about anti-racism work, or a commitment to grow as an anti-racist. The document was created by Anna Stamborski, Nikki Zimmermann, and Bailie Gregory.

By Angeliki Fanouria Giannaki, 2016 John Lewis Fellowship
This essay seeks to "reflect on the role of ‘privileged’ allies in social movements. In order to do so, I shall first explain what the notion ‘allies’ signifies. Then, I will elaborate briefly on the concept of privilege. Finally, I will talk about the ‘toolkit’ that a ‘privileged’ ally should be equipped with, with in order to contribute to a social struggle’s progress."

By Nick Wilkins, GLSEN Student Ambassador
"It is never an ally’s place to speak for an oppressed group, but rather to amplify the voices of the oppressed... [Their] role as an ally is to use [their] privilege to raise our voices, as well as to call out others with privilege who oppress us."

By Sheree Atcheson, Award-winning Diversity & Inclusion Leader, Forbes contributor
"To have the most successful and well-rounded tech industry, representation of marginalized groups in industry must improve. To invoke this change, the majority must help, support and advocate for the minority. If engaged correctly, allies hold the power and the key to stimulate positive change."

"As organizations speak out against racial injustice, many have been accused of “performative allyship”—condemning racism through broad gestures but enabling its effects in their own workplaces."