On white allies

Recently I asked Diversity Consultant, Alison Park, how she felt about the term “white ally.” As usual, her thoughtful, informed response helped me further my foundational thinking about partnership. Just as the term white ally has the potential to smack of paternalism, it can also represent a commitment on the part of a white person to engage with the dialog of race relations as someone who understands that s/he has a role and a race and is not free of any of the baggage that comes along with having a racialized society. So, tantamount to making terminology/lexicon choices in communities is discussion informed by voices that speak to varied life experiences. School-to-school partnerships offer communities another trusted set of voices at the table, and eduWeavers continues to be excited to create them for those schools ready to get “dirty” and do the hard work of building inclusive, socially informed, action-oriented students.

On white allies.

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