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SIUE Advisory Board: Do's and Don'ts to Becoming an Ally

Do's of Allyship

  • Do be open to listening
  • Do be aware of your implicit biases
  • Do your research to learn more about the history of the struggle in which you are participating
  • Do the inner work to figure out a way to acknowledge how you participate in oppressive systems
  • Do the outer work and figure out how to change the oppressive systems
  • Do use your privilege to amplify (digitally and in-person) historically suppressed voices
  • Do learn how to listen and accept criticism with grace, even if it’s uncomfortable
  • Do the work every day to learn how to be a better ally

Don'ts of Allyship

  • Do not expect to be taught or shown. Take it upon yourself to use the tools around you to learn and answer your questions
  • Do not participate for the gold medal in the “Oppression Olympics” (you don’t need to compare how your struggle is “just as bad as” a marginalized person’s)
  • Do not behave as though you know best
  • Do not take credit for the labor of those who are marginalized and did the work before you stepped into the picture
  • Do not assume that every member of an underinvested community feels oppressed