How to be a good ally

Hat tip to Feministing for picking up on Melissa Harris-Perry’s advice on “how to be a good ally”:

• Don’t demand that those you are supporting produce proof of the inequality they are working to resist.?
• Do recognize that the shield of your privilege may blind you to the experience of others of injustice.?
• Don’t offer up your relationship with a member of the marginalized group as evidence of your understanding.?
• Do be open to learning and expanding your consciousness by listening more and talking less.?
• Don’t see yourself as the Kevin Costner in Dances with Wolves.  Or Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai.  You are not the savior riding to the rescue on a white horse.  Do notice that you are joining a group of people who are already working to save themselves.?
• Do realize the only requirement you need to enter ally-ship is a commitment to justice and human equality.
</blockquote> by Melissa Harris-Perry