Ally Building
Produced by the Center for the Healing of Racism, Houston, TX.
Twelve ways to be an ally for healing the effects of racism and overcoming racist conditioning:
- Intervene in a situation where something racist is happening; “interrupt” it.
- Take the time to review your own history with regard to race (alone, with a friend or in a workshop group); bring to consciousness how present behavior and thought patterns were established.
- Decide to take action to establish meaningful relationships of friendship with people of different racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds; overcoming the societal pattern toward separation.
- Develop the ability to listen objectively to the anger and hurt of another person without taking it personally, knowing that their feelings come from a long history of injustice and that getting it out to a true listener is in itself healing.
- Make a commitment to correct (through reading, study, and investigation) the false and missing information you’ve been given about race, ethnicity and the history and culture of particular groups.
- Seek out positive aspects of your own heritage; identifying true heroes and heroines from your background in order to take complete pride in your own heritage.
- Become aware that unaware racist patterns exist, and make a consistent effort to bring them to consciousness and overcome them.
- Learn to risk making mistakes as growth experiences.
- Continue to educate yourself about what is currently happening with others in our world by reading their newspapers and magazines, listening to their leaders, etc.
- Form multi-cultural support groups.
- Adopt an attitude that the inherent nature of people who have been hurt is to want closeness with others, and not see a cautious response as rejection or cause to give up your efforts to build a friendly relationship with such a person.
- Seek to listen and find the fear in people who are acting out their racial conditioning, rather than just blaming or getting angry with them; think of such people as “recovering” from racial conditioning.
- Make a personal list of goals in becoming an ally for healing the effects of racism and overcoming racial conditioning.