Black Lives Matter. Here's how we can become better allies.
I am on the journey to better social awareness, racial equality, and black allyship, and the last few weeks have been a crash course in new information I’ve been privileged to a) not encounter until now and b) learn through education, rather than experience.
My privilege and past of racial missteps are mine to own, and I’m finding active allyship to be an effective focal point while I actively work through these topics and issues I’ve never been brave or aware enough to tackle head-on to date. I am moving into a new way of thinking, speaking, and behaving, and I’m so grateful for the many black creators who are using their talents to reach out to non-black communities to share their feelings, stories, and advice for us to become the allies we should have been all along.
One piece that struck me as profoundly helpful and important is a written piece by Lily Someson, whose Instagram posted something that moved me deeply this week. Her post entitled, “Here are ways non-black people can socially transition into a long-term movement” is well-written, concise, and full of calls to action that are uncomfortable, but highly attainable. They are clear and brave calls to action for non-black people who wish to be the best ally possible — not just during the protests currently happening, but moving forward throughout their lives and more social shifts.
I took Ms. Someson’s words, already beautifully typeset into the linked Instagram post above, and added illustration and new type treatment. I wanted to work with the right language and further the right voices, and honestly, I’m still conflicted as to whether adding my design was a selfish decision. I want to amplify black voices, black creativity, black business, black ideas, and black culture, and I want to do so with my medium if at all possible. When it came time to create my monthly content for this month, I just couldn’t reason with creating something that wasn’t relevant to the incredible social movement that’s happening right now and didn’t highlight the work black creators are doing to ensure black and white communities alike are informed, inspired, and encouraged.
I will not be posting my version on social media, as I hope to give Ms. Someson all the engagement, shares, and likes for her work — even one diverted away from her original would be a miss on my end. As stated previously, I want to create something useful, but not dampen the voices (written, visual or otherwise) of the black community. If you have any sort of platform where you can speak to audiences, I highly encourage you do the same.
Please find a way to be an ally. We are in a moment in history — a long-overdue paradigm shift has finally arrived. Carried on the backs and in the fists of protestors, swimming in the wake of racially-charged, unnecessary death and violence. That is how we got here. Allies are how we get out and emerge into something new that is more representative, more fair, and more peaceful than before.
Conversations will be uncomfortable. Changes will be hard. But it is the right thing to do. And I think we’ve ignored what we’ve known is right for a long time. Start and continue the conversation so that we can continue the movement already started. Here are Lily Someson’s words on how to get started:
