Do the right thing — be an active ally
There has never been a more important time to be an ally. Not just any ally but an active ally.
Around the world, people have come together to stand in solidarity with the Black community. While the cynic in me says about time, what’s happening right now is progress.
A lot of us are slowly understanding the power of privilege and how often we take it for granted. We are realizing how this privilege shields us and protects us in so many different ways. And now, we are taking it to the streets. We are demanding for a new normal — a normal where racism doesn’t exist in any form and definitely not in the systems that govern us.
There’s tremendous momentum right now which can be a turning point for real change. But the dial can only be moved if every single one of us supports the movement. And not just says they are supporting it, but is doing something to support it.
In the past ten days, Black Lives Matter has been a trending hashtag on Twitter. Black squares took over Instagram’s homepage last week. Organizations around the world have condemned Anti-Black racism on LinkedIn. While the intent is good, these actions don’t translate to impact. In fact, this type of performative allyship alone is dangerous. It exonerates us from actually having those tough and messy conversations that fuel change. It allows you to believe that your activism begins and ends with a hashtag.
That’s why I feel the need to emphasize on the word, active. Passively sitting on the sidelines is a privilege and luxury that marginalized and oppressed communities don’t have.
We can’t just keep our foot on the gas, we need to accelerate.
Please note: Since I am a proud Toronto resident, most of the resources below are Canadian or based in Toronto.
Look beyond the surface
The burden of education can not fall on the marginalized community alone. While it’s very important for all of us to understand the concept of systemic racism, we also need to individually realize how our privilege manifests and how we can use it to amplify the voices of those who are just exhausted from speaking up for their own inclusion.
This requires digging deep. It requires you to discover your own personal and often unconscious biases. It requires to consciously erase any society driven stereotypes that you may have. And most importantly, it requires effort and a commitment to put your education and self-reflection into action.
Below are a few resources that I have found very useful:
Anti-Racist Reading List — Goodreads
Report: Emotional Tax: How Black Women and Men Pay More at Work and How Leaders Can Take Action — Catalyst Canada
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Workplace Issues: Quick Take — Catalyst Canada
The Ultimate LGBTQIA+ Pride Book List — Penguin Random House
Volunteer your skills and resources
An important part of being an active ally is to help provide opportunities to communities that don’t receive it organically or systemically. In the workplace, that includes consciously hiring for diversity and sponsoring Black, Indigenous, People of Colour (BIPOC) employees so they are put on an equal path of growth and development.
On an individual level, you can use your unique skill set to volunteer with your employee resource groups at work or professional organizations with a mission to enable minority communities. They often need talent and resources and volunteering your time and energy shows that you’re willing to put in the effort to show your solidarity.
If you’re interested, I’ve listed a few professional networks that have done some great work to advocate for diversity and inclusion in Canada:
CAUFP — Canadian Associate of Urban Financial Professionals
Black Business and Professional Organization
Canada’s LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce
Indigenous Professional Association of Canada
TRIEC — Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council
Act with your wallet
There’s no denying that contributing financially has the most impact.
Donate money to funds that go directly towards specialized initiatives that lobby for change and empower marginalized groups. Or better, support BIPOC-owned businesses — buy their products and their shares. Invest in BIPOC start-ups and enable them to scale.
Adding a few organizations that you can support:
25 Toronto Diversity & Inclusion organizations the you can support
135 Black owned restaurants and businesses you can support right now — BlogTO
We don’t need to be perfect, we just need to start. This is a learning curve for all of us as allies and nobody is expecting us to be right all the time. But that doesn’t mean we don’t try.
This is an honest call to action for us to show that we really care. So speak up for inclusion, call out unjust behaviours, lead with empathy and fight for real change.
And why? Because it’s about time we do the right thing.
The conversation must continue. Please feel free to comment below and share other ways that we can be active allies.
