How to be an ally
Proud Aboriginal woman and Voice of Groov, Shantelle Thompson, shares what allyship means to her and why the world needs allies now more than ever.
By Shantelle Thompson OAM – proud Aboriginal woman, Barkindji Warrior, 3x Brazilian Jiu-jitsu world champion, professional speaker, thought leader, and a Voice of Groov.
Allyship. It’s a big topic, but I implore you not to dance away from the truth. The world needs allies – people willing to share their privilege, power, and influence – now more than ever. We all have a responsibility to do better for the generations to come.
For me, allyship is about:
Human connection.
Walking with people, not for people.
Opening doors and creating space for people from all walks of life.
Seeking to understand, not judge, someone’s lived experiences.
Doing profound inner work to confront your own biases and blindspots.
Not causing more harm through who you’re being and what you’re doing.
Allyship is a way of being. It’s not about posting something on social media or participating in a one-off event. It’s about asking yourself, every single day, how can I share my power? What capacity do I have to create space for others? We all have different privileges, so we can all be allies in some way.
If you’re new to allyship, or perhaps fearful of stepping into this space, here are some ways to get started.
Understand your own privilege
Everyone is born with certain privileges. I’m an Aboriginal woman with white skin. That means I often have the privilege of being in rooms where people don’t know I’m Aboriginal, because my physical features don’t fit with the stereotype. It’s important to acknowledge that there are different layers of discrimination.
Ask yourself the following questions:
Who are you as a person?
What spaces, roles, and privileges do you have?
What’s your potential?
What can you do? How can you use your resources and influence to provide equity to someone else who doesn’t have the same opportunities or starting point as you?
Do plenty of inner work
What is your story? What has shaped you? Reflecting on your own lived experiences will make it easier for you to empathise with others. Doing your own inner work allows you to be open to other people’s stories, not to fix or judge them, but to connect and understand.
It’s only once we know our own stories and what’s shaped us, that we can be aware of our own biases and experiences. We can’t truly understand others if we’re not willing to understand ourselves.
Review your information diet
Reflect on where you get most of your information. How do you engage with your community and your work? How is this shaping your experiences and perspectives? If you don’t diversify your information diet, your own learning will become very homogenous.
Don’t dance away from the truth
The need for allyship isn’t up for debate. Allyship is born out of facts. Facts, like:
Australia is one of only four countries to vote against the UN’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Australia’s national day of pride is celebrated on the day that colonisation and invasion of Aborignal people began.
The Australian government took Aboriginal children away from their families to assimilate them into Western culture.
As Aboriginal young people, my children hold a risk factor of being 17x more likely to be incarcerated than their non-Indigenous peers.
I know most people are not the perpetrators of these horrific realities. But, many people benefit and profit off whatever harm was previously caused. Allyship is a way to rebalance power and amplify the voices of those who are disadvantaged.
Continue educating yourself
We have the world at our fingertips through our phones. Educate yourself. Don’t expect someone in a minority group to do this for you.
Here are some great resources:
What is allyship? [Video]
Allyship in practice [Video]
National Reconciliation Week Australia [website]
If an opportunity does arise to engage with someone’s lived experience, ask questions like:
Do you have the capacity to talk about ____?
Is it OK if I ask you a question?
Be willing to listen to others, but don’t expect them to hold space for you. Remember, unlike the person you’re talking to, you have the privilege of being able to ‘put the topic down’ once you leave the conversation.
Do what you can
Allyship can be uncomfortable work. Keep in mind that you don’t need to do it all. Start by being an ally for people you know, or issues that are important to you. Research challenges that are relevant to the positions you hold or the spaces you sit in. Meet yourself where you’re at and be honest about your own capacity. Keep showing up, listening, being open to learning, and take it one day at a time. We all have a role to play in changing the world for the better.
