By Karessa Proctor, MSW
Here are some of the resources mentioned in the June 1, 2022, Essential Chats with Mit: “Keeping Allies in the Room.”
What is allyship?
Allies (noun): “a person, group, or nation that is associated with another or others for some common cause or purpose. A person who associates or cooperates with another. Supporter.” (Dictionary, 2022, page 1).
Allyship (verb): “the state or condition of being an ally. supportive association with another person or group. Specifically: such association with the members of a marginalized or mistreated group to which one does not belong”. (Dictionary, 2022, page 1).
Social Justice Ally: “A person of one social identity group who stands up in support of members of another group; typically, a member of a dominant group standing beside member(s) of a group being discriminated against or treated unjustly regardless of our identity, benefit when any of us take steps toward eliminating prejudice and discrimination in our society. We all benefit from our collective efforts to create a better educated and more understanding world that treats each of us with dignity, respect, and equality. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” (Opseau, 2015, page 1).
LGBTQIA+ Ally: “An ally is a person who works both to facilitate the development of all students around issues of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression and to improve the experience of LGBTQIA people. Allies can identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, cisgender, intersex, queer, questioning, or heterosexual.” (University of Illinois, 2015, page 6).
Podcasts
“Leading With Empathy & Allyship” by Melinda Briana Epler
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leading-with-empathy-allyship/id1509326364
“Allyship is a Verb” by Chris Angel (they/them) Murphy, MSW
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/allyship-is-a-verb/id1581501315
“The Power of Privilege and Allyship” by Dr. Funke Abimbola MBE
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-power-of-privilege-and-allyship/id1555973542
“Active Allyship…it’s more than a #hashtag!” by Sunni Dayz & Lisa Davis, MPH
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/active-allyship-its-more-than-a-hashtag/id1521868826
“Raising Reconciliation: How to be a great Indigenous ally” on the Calgary Journal Podcasts by Mount Royal University Journalism
“Disability Allyship with Jennifer Sarrett” on the Pause on The Play podcast by Erica Courdae
“Anti-Racist Allyship” by Let’s Talk Social Work
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/anti-racist-allyship/id1511140451?i=1000542361821
“Allyship and Anti-Racism on Social Media” by The Science of Social Media
“On Performative Allyship and Black Joy” by Queerology: A Podcast on Belief and Being
“No White Saviors Podcast” by No White Saviors
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/no-white-saviors-podcast/id1499549147
“Code switch” podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/1112190608
Related Articles
Williams, M., & Sharif, N. (2021). Racial allyship: Novel measurement and new insights. New Ideas in Psychology, 62, 100865.
Clark, M. D. (2019). White folks’ work: Digital allyship praxis in the# BlackLivesMatter movement. Social Movement Studies, 18(5), 519-534.
Forber-Pratt, A. J., Mueller, C. O., & Andrews, E. E. (2019). Disability identity and allyship in rehabilitation psychology: Sit, stand, sign, and show up. Rehabilitation Psychology, 64(2), 119–129. https://doi.org/10.1037/rep0000256
Salter, N. P., & Migliaccio, L. (2019). Allyship as a diversity and inclusion tool in the workplace. Diversity within Diversity Management.
Higgins, R. (2021). Allyship Project: The Importance of Religious Diversity. Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research, 9(1), 8.
Erskine, S. E., & Bilimoria, D. (2019). White allyship of Afro-Diasporic women in the workplace: A transformative strategy for organizational change. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 26(3), 319-338.
Smith, J., Puckett, C., & Simon, W. (2016). Indigenous allyship: An overview (pp. 1-36). Waterloo, ON: Office of Aboriginal Initiatives, Wilfrid Laurier University.
Kluttz, J., Walker, J., & Walter, P. (2020). Unsettling allyship, unlearning and learning towards decolonizing solidarity. Studies in the Education of Adults, 52(1), 49-66.
Phillips, H. (2020). Performative Allyship Is Deadly (Here’s What to Do Instead). Policy Exchange. https://policyexchange. org. uk/performative-allyship-is-deadly-heres-what-to-do-instead.
Kam, J. A., Cornejo, M., Mendez Murillo, R., & Afifi, T. D. (2022). Communicating allyship according to college students with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 39(6), 1623-1647.
Lakhani, A. (2021). Asian Diaspora and Indigenous Allyship. Student Research Proceedings, 6(1).
Leonard, G., & Misumi, L. (2016). WAIT (why am I talking?): A dialogue on solidarity, allyship, and supporting the struggle for racial justice without reproducing white supremacy. Harvard Journal of African American Public Policy, 61.
Lebenhagen, C. (2020). Including speaking and nonspeaking autistic voice in research. Autism in Adulthood, 2(2), 128-131.
Choney, S. K., & Rowe, W. (1994). Assessing White racial identity: The White racial consciousness development scale (WRCDS). Journal of Counseling & Development, 73(1), 102-104. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.1994.tb01718.x
Cross Jr, W. E., & Vandiver, B. J. (2001). Nigrescence theory and measurement: Introducing the Cross Racial Identity Scale (CRIS). https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2008-00399-021
Constantine, M. G., Watt, S. K., Gainor, K. A., & Warren, A. K. (2005). The influence of cross’s initial black racial identity theory on other cultural identity conceptualizations. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2008-08155-007
Helms, J. E. (1986). Expanding racial identity theory to cover counseling process. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 33(1), 62–64. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.33.1.62
The Philosophical Aspects of Cultural Difference by Edwin Nichols
http://courses.oermn.org/pluginfile.php/26109/mod_resource/content/3/Axiology_Rev.pdf
YouTube videos
“5 Tips for being an Ally” https://youtu.be/_dg86g-QlM0
“A guide to allyship: How to become an ally” https://youtu.be/56Ox68Iok5I
“What is Performative Allyship?” https://youtu.be/bm355j6HdKM
“Allyship in Practice” https://youtu.be/f3f_pHYo2rM
“What is a True White Ally?” https://youtu.be/ULr8l7nFN4Y
Additional Resources
Dictionary (2022) Ally https://www.dictionary.com/browse/ally
Opseu (2015) What does it mean to be an Ally? Definitions and Characteristics. https://opseu.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/what_does_it_mean_to_be_an_ally.pdf
University of Illinois (2015) What is an Ally? Counseling Center. http://counselingcenter.illinois.edu/outreach-consultation-prevention/cultural-diversity-outreach/queers-allies/lgbt-ally-network/what
Resources from Previous Discussions
Here are some resources mentioned in a September 2021 Essential Chat on How NASW Leadership Continues Building an Inclusive Community.
During this discussion NASW President Mit Joyner and two newly appointed board members: Dr. Alice Kay Locklear, PhD, MSW, ACSW, Region V Director and Bisrat Abebe, LCSW, LICSW, MA, Region I Director discussed Afghanistan, the dark history of Native American Boarding Schools, Voting Rights, Critical Race Theory, and Climate Change.
Here are some related resources social workers may find helpful.
The Standards and Indicators for Cultural Competence in Social Work Practice
NASW Report to the Profession on Racial Justice Priorities and Action
NASW Examines its Past, Present and Future in Addressing Systemic Racism
Native American Resources
AI/AN Organizations
National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) https://www.nicwa.org/
Coronavirus -19 Resources (NIVWA) https://www.nicwa.org/coronavirus/
National Indian Education Association (NIEA) https://www.niea.org/
National Indian Child Care Association (NICCA) https://www.facebook.com/NICCA.US/
National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) https://theacademy.sdsu.edu/elearning/icwa-elearning-bias-media-context/story_content/external_files/ApologyCWLA.pdf
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) as a resource for working with Native Americans through cultural competence. https://www.nami.org/Your-Journey/Identity-and-Cultural-Dimensions/Indigenous
Indian Health Services: (IHS) https://www.ihs.gov/
Native People’s Concept of Health and Illness
Informational Sites
Working With American Indian Children and Families
How Native Americans Struggled to Survive on the Trail of Tears
How Boarding Schools Tried to Kill the Indian Through Assimilation
U.S. Department of Interior, Indian Affairs. Division of Human Services
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Indian Health Services
Current Federal Legislation
Here are some of the resources mentioned in the March 26 Facebook Live Event — Essential Chats with Mit: A Conversation with Change Agents
- Joanna Bartholomew, M.Ed, MSW, Founder and CEO of O’Hara Developments – Also learn about their non-profit O’Hara Development Partners CDC, Inc. Email: Info@oharadev.com. Read Joanna’s new book, Before You Build: Vol. 1, Building from the Heart of the Community.
- Dr. Tiffany Lane is Founder and CEO of the Inititative Almatine’s Goodies. Learn more about Almatine’s Goodies.
- Jack Brown, MSW, CEO and President of CORE Services. Learn more about CORE Services.
- Hunter Beaton, Founder and CEO of Day 1 Bags. Learn more about Day 1 Bags.
