Anti-Systemic Racism Resources: Allyship

Allyship Definition

An ally is an individual who actively and continuously strives towards promoting justice and ending marginalization.

According to the Guide to Allyship, to be an ally is to:

• Take on the struggle as your own.
• Stand up, even when you feel scared.
• Transfer the benefits of your privilege to those who lack it.
• Acknowledge that while you, too, feel pain, the conversation is not about you.

The Anti-Oppression Network defines allyship by what it is not:

"allyship is not an identity—it is a lifelong process of building relationships based on trust, consistency, and accountability with marginalized individuals and/or groups of people; allyship is not self-defined—our work and our efforts must be recognized by the people we seek to ally ourselves with."                                                                                                     From the College of DuPage LibGuide, What Is Allyship