The Good Ally: A Guided Anti-racism Journey from Bystander to Changemaker

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You may have noticed it’s easier to handle being corrected about something you didn’t know if you’re grateful for and even open to the opportunity to learn rather than embarrassed to have been wrong. Being able to let go of your ego is an incredibly important skill to develop.

Finally, this is a resource to help anyone considering allyship better understand the pros and cons of what being an ally entails. Allies understand their role in collaboration with people whose lives are affected daily by systemic oppression. Kayla Reed’s ( @iKaylaReed) tweet sharing her definition of what it means to be an ally. It’s another great definition that’ll help you follow along with this section! Apologies are social contracts that hold you accountable. They tell others that you are taking responsibility, are open to the consequences of your actions, and plan to do better in the future.

Being an active bystander

The Good Ally is more than a book, it's a guided journey for anyone and everyone into the complex subject of fighting social injustice. It isn't a book about how to simply not be racist, but about being actively anti-racist, which is something we all need to learn how to do. Context can include your current mental state (are you feeling defensive? Upset? Nervous? Calm?), the physical space you're in (private or public area), or the apology’s medium (phone, online, text message, in person).

I would recommend listening this to Audible, as it’s narrated by Nova Reid herself and she is very engaging. It’s literally like being in the room and having a conversation with her one to one.

This book gives one of the most practical and comprehensive descriptions of the difference between systemic and systematic racism.' Imagine your privilege is a heavy boot that keeps you from feeling when you’re stepping on someone’s feet or they’re stepping on yours, while oppressed people have only sandals. If someone says, “ouch! You’re stepping on my toes,” how do you react? We need people to do this even if they cannot fully understand what it’s like to be oppressed for their race or ethnicity, gender, sexuality, ability, class, religion, or other marker of identity. The author helps you to understand how you can become a better bystander when witnessing harm, start discussions about race within your workplace, families and friends groups, but also lead on this work within organisations and universities.

News Blog Communities Last month marked the launch of lesbian, gay, bi and trans equality charity Stonewall’s Come Out For LGBT campaign, which calls on individuals from all walks of life to be active allies to the LGBT community. This was one of the most challenging chapters to read and process as the author describes the relentless physical and mental effect microaggressions have on victims. In reality, most of us naturally know the right way to react when we step on someone’s toes, and we can use that to help us learn how to react when we commit microaggressions.The importance of Nova’s work is hard to summarise, such is the impact of this book. It is impossible to view racism and its corrosiveness then and now in the same way after reading this. Vital. Galvanising. Healing.”

Encouraging readers not to only fight against the blatant systemic racism that we can all see, but to reflect inwards and assess our own internal biases and microaggressions we may not even realise. Of course, this can get uncomfortable and painful, as we look at ourselves and realise we may have been harbouring unconscious racism or prejudice against others, or even ourselves.Being an ally to my closest friends, I think that's where it starts - and my social media platforms. Use any platform you have to de-centre your voice and amplify the voices of people who are less heard,” says Richie. Nova’s book for me is a mental health manual for dealing with the everyday issues that arise when navigating a system that seeks to deny the existence of structural racism. She not only gives the reader detailed examples of the things that can and do arise, she also expertly offers solutions that help deal with them.’ It is important to not cut to the end of the book or read a summary version. Only then can the impact be really felt.