Allyship and The Language of Antiracism

Racism | Diversity

Four stories that show that it matters how you say it

I’ve been against racism for much of my life, but it’s only been a couple of months since I took up the cudgel as an active antiracist writer.

Part of that process is continuing to educate myself. It’s mindblowing to think that as a product of the colonized Caribbean, anti-Black attitudes are part of my cultural capital. These are expressed in shadeism and colorism, which still affect BIPOC to this day.

There’s a lot of unlearning that has to happen, and some of that has to do with the language we use to talk about certain experiences. I’m a language buff. In addition to my native tongue (English), I speak three other languages with varying degrees of fluency. I’m fascinated by how languages evolve, meanings, and subtext. And that’s what this collection explores.

Is Ally Even the Right Word? Part 1

In my last collection, I highlighted an excellent article by Catherine Pugh, Esq. called There’s No Such Thing as a White “Ally”. Part 2 is equally hard-hitting, and I plan to follow the whole series.

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She makes the point that the term “white ally” legitimizes people who may not do anything other than adopt the badge. In addition, the notion of “helping” fight racism perpetuates the narrative that it is Black people’s mess to fix. Newsflash: we didn’t create it.

The whole series is worth your time.

Relanguaging Enslavement

While we’re on the subject of changing how we speak about things, an article by Bridgette L. Hylton on Why We Must Stop Referring to Enslaved People as ‘Slaves’ really hit home with me.

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Her key point: when you change the language the onus for enslavement shifts from the people who were enslaved to the ones abducting and selling people into forced labor. (Side note: when that happens these days we call it “trafficking” and most people accept that it’s wrong.)

Another term to avoid is “owned” which you can replace with “enslaved”. As the author says, switching the language makes you feel compassion or outrage where those emotions are appropriate.

Is Ally Even the Right Word? Part 2

Another perspective on the use of the term “white ally” comes from Marley K. in Maybe It’s Time To Retire The Term White Ally. This is another writer worth following here on Medium.

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Marley K says that white people can’t be allies because they’re the ones holding the power. Let that sit with you a while. She asks how white people can be “helping” to fix something they broke, and uses a powerful analogy:

A better way to describe white people fighting the antiracist fight, Marley says, is as good white folks doing the right thing. (And as far as I’m concerned, you don’t get a cookie for doing the right thing by attesting to Black people’s basic humanity.)

“Colorblind” Isn’t a Thing

As many BIPOC have said before, and many will again, it’s problematic when white people say they don’t see race. As Fatima Sultan points out in You’re Not Colourblind, You’re Racist, ignoring race ignores the effects of racism.

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“Race” is an artificial construct intended to justify the colonial project, enslavement, myriad atrocities, and looting. But centuries later, its effects are real. And so you have to see it to fight it.

As before, these are articles that have expanded my thinking, and I quote them often. I hope you’ll find them equally educational.

© Sharon Hurley Hall, 2020

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