The importance of Allyship for the disabled community
These are the recent reflections of my work as a @GrapevineCovandWarks Community Organiser working with Coventry Youth Activists (CYA for short)
“As an ally you use your power — no matter how big or small — to support others. You learn, and try, and mess up and try harder.” Being an Ally by Shakirak Bourne and Dana Alison Levy
Recently I have been thinking about allyship and its importance to a community and a movement. The above quote resonates with me as not only does it express what an ally can give to others but also that the process is not always clear cut and lots of learnings will take place. It’s definitely been like this since Coventry Youth Activists created their Ally Pack.
The reasons behind the Ally Pack
Hate speech towards disabled people is not only the least reported, it is also underreported. CYA recognises that at times the voices of the non-disabled are listened to more and they want to tap into this power and potential. The online disabled community is growing but there is a need for more people to stand in solidarity
CYA’S Ally Pack will give you tools and tips so that you can play an active role in reporting online hate speech towards disabled people
- CYA’s hope is that our allies will better understand disability hate speech online and what they can do to challenge this.
- CYA want to empower the disabled community and activate allies to speak up.
- CYA want to say there is no perfect way to be an ally, it’s about trying your best and having the right intentions
- How allies can be inclusive with their social media
- How to see the signs of hate speech towards disabled people
Learning 1:
Sharing the latest sign ups at the online meetings gives the team a real boost about their work! The team love reading who people are and where they are from. They have also arranged a few 1:1s with new people which is helping them to develop their community organising skills and developing their networks. It’s been a good tactic to use to get new supporters
Learning 2:
Maybe naively, we did think it would be an easy process to get organisations signed up as allies. I mean we have developed a great learning tool and who wouldn’t want to support making the internet a safer place for disabled people? But, we didn’t take into account that organisational structures could and would get in the way. Although we have had people from organisations sign up, some have signed up as individuals.
Furthermore we have been working with University of Warwick students who don’t necessarily “work” for an organisation but want to be an ally and to learn more about standing up to online disability hate. They challenged us to rethink our sign up form to include individuals which we have done.
We are thinking about and working on how organisations can sign up more easily. In the meantime sign up to receive your copy and share your thoughts on how you could embed into your organisation
Learning 3:
Getting the socials right! This one is always tricky especially as we are not experts in this field. There is a lot of trial and error. Also as there are only two members of CYA who support the creation of social media posts so when they are not around or are working on more urgent things for CYA our socials are not as consistent as they would be if we had someone dedicated to this role. We have realised we need to recruit new members to the team with specific skills. We have started a recruitment campaign to find the right people. Maybe you know someone?
Learning 4:
Similar in a way to the last point and that is there aren’t enough hours in the day to get all the things done to truly embrace CYA’s ideas and plans. For example the Ally Pack is waiting for a section to be added on the “Power of Language” and intersectionality. Both topics are important for CYA to share their thoughts on with their allies but with other urgent jobs taking precedence this for now will take a back seat. We reflected on this and it’s hoped that in the new year we can bring the allies together online to develop relationships and to do what the above quote says: “learn, try, mess up and try harder.”
Learning 5:
Learning from those with lived experiences. I posed two questions at last week’s online CYA meet up here are their thoughts:
Why are allies important for CYA?
- Because things can get very busy and allies can help with time and energy
- Connections — talking about CYAs work in new spaces
- Sharing skills, helping and supporting each other, both benefit
- Other people being part of the wider CYA group
- Helps CYA move forward
How can allies help stop online disability hate/ableism?
- Signing up to our ally pack will give people tools to be able to talk to their organisation
- Get more people talking about the issues to build more awareness
- Look for and report disability hate online
Part 2 to follow…
I am working hard to keep my week notes simple so that they don’t take up too much of my time but they still convey what I have been reflecting on. With that being said I will be returning soon with part 2 of this exploration into my thoughts. Coming soon! “Why allyship is important to movements” ( a working title!)
