Principles of Being an Effective Ally
- Know your self worth as an effective ally.
- Know that you have a perfect right to be concerned with other people’s liberation and that it is in your won interest to be an ally.
- Realize that others would and do want your allegiance.
- Assume that people in the target group are using their best communication skills to interact with you.
- Assume that any rejections of you as an ally by a target group member is the results of their oppression and internalized oppression.
- Realize that you have much to learn from your potential allies, in fact, they are experts in their life experiences.
- Recognize your conditioned role as “oppressor.”
- Assume that target group people are survivors and that they have a long history of resistance.
- Become knowledgeable of internalized oppression manifestation of target group members.