The Ally’s Guide to The Green Book Project

There are two questions we receive frequently from white allies here at The Green Book Project: “What’s my place in this movement as an ally?” and “How can I support The Green Book Project?” These are very good questions, and we felt that they deserved a more in-depth answer than what we could post in a short social media comment.

I will start by answering the first question, ‘What’s my place in this movement as an ally?’

We have had many white people wonder if they should download the app, questioning whether the app can or even should be used by them. The mission of The Green Book Project is to not only fight racism, but to provide safe spaces for all marginalized communities. To be clear, ‘marginalized communities’ is not a term that refers solely to Black people. Marginalized communities include people of color, indigenous people, immigrant populations, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ folks, and women. These are all groups who need The Green Book Project to stay safe when they go somewhere unfamiliar.

The foundation of The Green Book Project is built upon the idea of co-allyship. We not only want to help people stay safe, but to create a culture where folks are looking out for each other’s safety. A key component of true allyship is leveraging one’s privilege to act in solidarity with marginalized communities.

Although the term ally has become a popular word in discussions of oppression, it can mislead some into believing that simply being an ally is all that is required to be effective in this movement. However, allyship can be thought of as stages of advocacy.

In social justice work, it is crucial that people move beyond the first stage of allyship, awareness, to the active stage of accomplice. The accomplice not only recognizes problematic situations, but also calls them out. This means they use their access or privilege to change the power dynamic, and actively work to change or correct the systemic biases they see.

Those who would be co-conspirators take their allyship to the next level. These are people who build and sustain meaningful relationships with marginalized folks. They ask how they can help, they leverage their time, influence, assets or other resources to help remove barriers to marginalized folks and communities. Co-conspirators do not co-opt the movement, nor do they see themselves as saviors of the people they work alongside.

Our founder, Christian Lowe, shares an example from his own life which demonstrates how co-conspirators can use their influence to disrupt systems of oppression. Here’s what Christian has to say:

“I was on a trip with some of my white friends during college when we stopped at a convenience store to buy some snacks and drinks. I ended up entering the store a few minutes behind the group, and when I did, the shopkeeper immediately asked me to leave my backpack at the front. I figured they must have had some recent problems with theft, so I dropped off my bag and went to meet up with my friends further back in the store. When I caught up with the others, one of my white friends immediately noticed that I was the only person in the group who the shopkeeper had told to leave their backpack. Upon the realization, my friend made an executive decision that we would not be spending a single dime in the store, and we left.”

The answer to the second question, ‘How can I support the Green Book Project?,’ is one that takes into account the aforementioned levels of allyship. Your support will depend on which level of allyship you are currently working towards.

Here are ways you can use The Green Book Project with an allyship mindset:

1. See Something, Say Something- When you see bigotry happening, even when it is not directed at you or someone you know, writing about it in The Green Book Project strengthens the voices of marginalized folks.
2. Read Reviews of Businesses- When you take the time to open The Green Book Project and check for reviews of the businesses you plan to patronize, you can make an informed opinion about whether you are willing to spend your money there. When you make a conscious decision to avoid places where other people face discrimination, and to patronize places that are inclusive, you are voting with your dollars.
3. Invite Your Friends- When you tell your friends from marginalized groups about The Green Book Project and invite your friends to use the app, you are growing the movement and you are helping create safe spaces for marginalized communities.
4. Adding Business Tags- When you add business tags to a location, you are helping people find safe spaces. This is a very simple way to contribute to a culture where people are looking out for each other’s safety. If you notice a business is handicap accessible, has gender neutral bathrooms, is Black owned, woman owned… and you add these tags to the location — you are making a small contribution to a more inclusive world.

At The Green Book Project, we strive to ensure that no one ever has to live in fear of discrimination, and to do this, we need everyone’s help. But, this does not just happen by accident. It starts with downloading the app. The Green Book Project is a crowdsourced resource. It requires everyone who downloads the app to leave reviews, invite others to leave reviews, and to be vigilant. Because ‘Never Feel Out of Place’ is not just a catchy phrase that we use for our tagline, it’s our mission.

Download The Green Book Project today in the Apple App Store or Google Play.