For Whites Who Consider Being Allies but Find It Much Too Tuff

Susana M. Morris

The following post is a CRUNK public service announcement for our own post most-racial times.

For the record, being a White ally means . . .

Not expecting your friends/colleagues of color to do the heavy lifting around your own privilege.

Not recentering the conversation back to yourself when difficult subjects come up.

Not asking people of color to be less angry so you can really listen. Child, please.

Not petulantly zeroing in on petty aspects of a person of color’s argument or analysis because it makes you feel uncomfortable or illuminates holes in your thinking. It’s really transparent.

Not bringing up the fact that your best friend/boo/adopted stepchild is Black/Brown/polka-dotted. Such “facts” are not get-out-of-jail-free cards for saying stupid shit or generally being racist. You can have intimate relationships with people of color and still have fucked-up race politics.

Not expecting/demanding cookies and milk because you are pursuing antiracist activism. While we may be happy to work with you, you are doing what you’re supposed to do. Period. Point blank.

During conversations about race, the phrases “race card” and “oversensitive” don’t even enter into your mind, much less escape your lips. It’s never the right answer.

And, never forget, being a White ally means being less concerned with potentially being called racist and more concerned with actually perpetuating racism.