I understand why so many of us feel the need to say something, especially after yet another loud wake up call last weekend. In this latest social media viral outcry, the level of brutality, discrimination and unconcealed hatred towards people of colour and in this case, an innocent unarmed black man, remind us that to be silent is to be complicit. But the problem with our displays of performative ‘allyship’ whether it’s to add our voice that #blacklivesmatter or to #savetheplanet its not that it causes any actual harm but that it excuses us. It excuses privileged white people like ourselves from making the personal sacrifices necessary to touch the depth of the issues we’re claiming we want to address.
If we hash-tag #Icantbreathe #sayhisname #enoughisenough etc we’ve all done our bit, right? We’ve all publicly declared that we stand against racism, we care about the planet, we’re on message, a ‘woke’ person.
“WRONG” says Holiday Phillips. “This kind of allyship is transient. A passing story. A repost. For the ’gram. It’s cheap and inauthentic.” In this, her latest blog she give us wannabe ‘white allies’ some well considered food for thought.