SSW102 Chapter 3: Becoming an Ally
Becoming an Ally – 169-176
• After a workshop called “Unlearning Racism”, there were 3 groups created based on the
reactions of the white participants:
o Backlashers
▪ Deny the existence of racism while making racist statements and
expressing outrage that they are forced to listen to stories of racism
▪ Try to avoid taking responsibility of racism with statements like “that
happened a long time ago, I wasn’t part of it” or “some of my best friends
are black” or even more so, “im not racist”
▪ They fail to see the collective aspect of the oppression, cannot see their
own privilege, and take too little personal responsibility
o Guilty
▪ Personalized the issue and became defensive and paralyzed
▪ Fail to see the collective aspect of the oppression and take on too much
personal responsibility
▪ They feel powerless and sometimes react angrily against the person they
think disempowered them by making them aware of the problem
▪ They seek forgiveness from someone they see as representative of the
oppressed group
▪ Privilege is often invisible to them
o Learners/Allies
▪ Used any opportunity to learn more and then act on what they learn
▪ They have an understanding of themselves as part of a people or various
peoples – they understand if something is done to another member of
their own group, it can happen to them
• Ex. if a woman is raped, its not because she asked for it or dressed
provocatively, it is because she is a woman, and this could happen
to any woman
▪ They understand that, as part of various oppressor groups, they didn’t
bring the situation about and they cannot just reach out good will and
solve it
▪ Doing nothing reinforces the status quo and becomes part of the
problem
