Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of abbreviations
- Notes on contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Preface
- Part I Introduction
- Part II Staff experiences of racism
- Part III Student experiences of racism
- Part IV Research systems enabling racism
- Part V Teaching systems enabling racism
- Part VI Pedagogies that enable racism
- Part VII Governance, strategy and operational systems
- Part VIII Conclusion
- Index
19 - In solidarity
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 October 2022
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of abbreviations
- Notes on contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Preface
- Part I Introduction
- Part II Staff experiences of racism
- Part III Student experiences of racism
- Part IV Research systems enabling racism
- Part V Teaching systems enabling racism
- Part VI Pedagogies that enable racism
- Part VII Governance, strategy and operational systems
- Part VIII Conclusion
- Index
Summary
Introduction
When thinking about solidarity and collective action, I prime this chapter with a quote from Lilla Watson who said “if you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together” (1985). This collective action is often referred to as ‘allyship’, whereby the notion of allyship can be defined from
late 14c., as ‘relative, kinsman’ from ally (v.); mid-15c. in the sense of ‘one united with another by treaty or league’. Allies as the name of the nations aligned against the Central Powers in World War I is from 1914; as the nations aligned against Germany, Italy and Japan in World War II, from 1939. (Etymonline, 2020)
In the context of anti-racism,
Allyship is a proactive, ongoing, and incredibly difficult practice of unlearning and re-evaluating, in which a person of privilege works in solidarity and partnership with a marginalised group of people to help take down the systems that challenge that group’s basic rights, equal access, and ability to thrive in our society. (Rochester Racial Justice Toolkit, 2020)
Examples of allyship have existed in wider equalities movements. For example, as part of the LGBTQI+ movements, there were notable increases in the number of ‘out-group alliances’ of non-LGBTQI+ individuals who would support this movement. This was noted through the mainstreaming of LGBTQI+ in the media (Ng, 2013) and education (Nash & Browne, 2019). There are also examples of allyship in solidarity with people living with a disability and/or d/Deafness. For example, disabled artists have contested the stereotyped representations of disability in media narratives, and critiqued these stereotypes (for example, Hadley, 2020). Discourses of allyship in this area have focused on voice, agency and those with lived experience of disability and d/Deafness (for example, Forber-Pratt, Mueller & Andrews, 2019). Calls have been made to redefine allyship for people to reconsider their roles in shaping disability identities with references to enacting social models of disability to be authentic allies (for example, Forber-Pratt, Mueller & Andrews, 2019).
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- Anti-Racism in Higher EducationAn Action Guide for Change, pp. 197 - 202Publisher: Bristol University PressPrint publication year: 2022