♃There Is No Such Thing as a ‘White Ally’ — “TNSWA” Part I.
Part I of TNSWA series. Racism is not mine, it’s yours, and it’s not called “help” when it’s your mess we’re cleaning.
I never use the term “White Ally” when I talk with family and friends. That’s because I detest it. A little twang of dissonance echoes every time it comes my way. My rage is not directed at the name, but its attending mentality. And the sobriquet itself implicates one of the most insidious sleights-of-hand in mankind’s history.
The logic behind the expression “White Ally” makes about as much sense as me going into your room, folding your affirmations and putting them neatly away, cleaning all the introspection off of your mirror, gathering your feelings for the laundry, and then you pick up your golliwog, put it away, and announce triumphantly, “We’re in this together, and I am totally committed to helping.”
Mmmm, not so much with that.
In my circles — Black or White, family or friend — I rarely discuss my rejection of the “White Ally” label’s…
