Becoming An Ally — Part 2

LEARN

This is the second in a series of 4 articles about becoming an ally. In the first article, we talked about why white men like me need to do something about racism. Now the question is “what?”.

Once I finally started to realize the depth of racism in American society, the question became: as a white man, what can I do?, or what should I do? I found this to be a very hard question to answer. One can easily do too much or too little. It can be tempting to do nothing rather than risking doing something wrong, but doing nothing is wrong.

So I started with a bit of research, looking and asking around. Ultimately, the answer I found most convincing lies in two words: LEARN and ACT.

LEARN

The first and most important thing I could do was learning about racism in America as well as Black history and culture. This is a highly rewarding exercise that only takes a few very basic incremental steps.

My first step was simply to look online and navigate from one hyperlink to the next. I found the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) website to offer a great and short overview on its home page. It’s a really good place to start.

Once you’ve covered the basics and convinced yourself to support social justice, take a look at this Guide to Allyship: a simple guide that clearly explains some things you can do to become an “ally” against racism.

As you learn more about racism, you will want to discuss the topic with your close family, and that might not be easy. It’s however important to educate our kids so we do not transmit the same misconceptions and misbehaviors we inherited and supported. These Resources for talking to your kids might help.

Next, I would suggest reading more books written by Black authors (and more specifically Black women).

I looked back at my bookshelves to check the diversity of authors I have read from. I thus reviewed the authors of over 500 books and found that 87% were male, and 92% were white! What does your library look like? How does it shape your understanding of the world?

Reading books takes time, but it leaves a deeper impression and opens your mind much further than most alternative options.

Here are some of the best books I read in 2020:

Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison

This story, first published in 1952, is tragically as vivid as if it were happening today. Sadly it shows how little has changed in over half a century, and how we cannot expect things to progress on their own, without effort from everyone.

“When one is invisible he finds such problems as good and evil, honesty and dishonesty, of such shifting shapes that he confuses one with the other, depending upon who happens to be looking through him at the time. Well, now I’ve been trying to look through myself, and there’s a risk in it. I was never more hated than when I tried to be honest. Or when, even as just now I’ve tried to articulate exactly what I felt to be the truth. No one was satisfied — not even I.” (Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison)

So You Want to Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo

This book may make many white readers uncomfortable at times, but I find this to be the right level of discomfort we need to appreciate the structural depth of racism in the US and what can be done. It is also not overwhelmingly alarming, as the author consistently suggests ways and reasons to remain optimistic and make progress.

“The possibilities of where you can leverage your privilege to make real, measurable change toward a better world are endless. Every day you are given opportunities to make the world better, by making yourself a little uncomfortable and asking, “who doesn’t have this same freedom or opportunity that I’m enjoying now?” These daily interactions are how systems of oppression are maintained, but with awareness, they can be how we tear those systems down.” (So You Want to Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo)

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson

This has to be one of the most powerful books I’ve ever read, destructuring caste systems and highlighting commonalities across the US, India, and, yes, Nazi Germany. Some sections are hard to digest, but they’re eye-opening.

“It is a measure of how long enslavement lasted in the United States that the year 2022 marks the first year that the United States will have been an independent nation for as long as slavery lasted on its soil. No current-day adult will be alive in the year in which African-Americans as a group will have been free for as long as they had been enslaved. That will not come until the year 2111.” (Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson)

The Fire Next Time, by James Baldwin

I have heard quite a bit about James Baldwin, frequently quoted by many leaders, but I had admittedly never read any of his written works. I was not sure where to start but eventually settled for this collection of two essays that are sometimes presented as “one of the most influential books about race relations in the 1960s”. It does not disappoint as it provides a lot of wisdom about America, racism, religion, and humanity in general. It is obviously and unsurprisingly very well written, but also easy to read. A lot remains highly relevant today, while some parts relate more specifically to the movements of the 1960s. It has thus both a historical and philosophical value.

“Many of them, indeed, know better, but, as you will discover, people find it very difficult to act on what they know. To act is to be committed, and to be committed is to be in danger. In this case, the danger, in the minds of most white Americans, is the loss of their identity.” (The Fire Next Time, by James Baldwin)

I could also add the timeless (sigh) A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, which, as a play, directly connects the reader with the challenges of a working Black family. Interestingly enough, it was on my 10th-grade daughter’s school’s reading list, so it is also appropriate for teenagers to reflect on racism and maybe trigger some useful family conversations.

All in all, there is ample evidence and resources to learn about racism in America and realize that despite the Civil Rights movement, despite the success of Black leaders up to the US Presidency, the life of most African-Americans has tragically not improved much. This is not tolerable in a country that is supposedly based on freedom and the right to pursue happiness for all. This will not change without effort. The damages and suffering are deep and lasting.

Having started to learn a few lessons, the next logical step is to take action. Here again, the task may seem overwhelming. What can I do to make a difference? This is the topic of the next article in this series.