Are You an Ally or a Co-Conspirator?
Reflections on my journey toward antiracism
I consider myself to be antiracist and have held that as a part of my identity for many years now.
This has been a journey for me. It has required honest and difficult reflection about my privilege, complicity, and outlook on the world.
I recently had the opportunity to engage in deep reflection on my role as an antiracist in a racist society through an antiracism cohort with Embracing Equity and Montessori for Social Justice. It was a truly incredible experience to be in an intentional community dedicated to advancing social justice within education and across our society.
This three-part blog series is a reflection on what I learned, how I’ve changed, and what I’m still pondering as I continue my journey toward antiracism.
It all started with a good story.
Am I am Ally? Or a Co-Conspirator?
In an interview in 2019, Dr. Bettina Love used an analogy for the difference between allies and co-conspirators which transformed the way I saw myself as an antiracist white person.
If you’d like to hear her give this example, you can listen here: https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4844082/user-clip-ally-vs-conspirator-means-abolitionist-teacher
Dr. Love gave a clear definition and distinction between allies and co-conspirators, saying “Allies know all the language, they read all the books, they come to the meeting with all the terms … That’s the difference between being an ally and a co-conspirator. To be a co-conspirator is to take risks for somebody, to put something on the line.”
The example she used was of the White man who was a co-conspirator in South Carolina when a group of activists planned to take the Confederate Flag down from the state capital.
A Black woman had climbed the flag pole to remove the flag and police were closing in. They wanted to get her down as quickly as possible. What did they decide to do?
They decided to taze the pole so she would fall. This would have killed her.
Realizing what the cops were attempting to do, this co-conspirator put his hand on the pole, literally putting his body on the line, so that the woman could get down safely. The police didn’t attempt to taze the pole with him holding on to it.
This White man used his privilege to be a co-conspirator and saved the life of the woman on the flag pole.
What stories have you internalized about yourself?
Hearing this story gave me a real-life example through which to analyze my own antiracist work.
I am someone who has “read all the books.” I’m a very academic and feel comfortable engaging with the topic in that space.
But what have I been doing to be a co-conspirator? How have I been using my privilege to disrupt injustice and inequity, even on a small level?
Dr. Love describes privilege as an ATM card which always replenishes, so I decided to give it a try.
For the few weeks after hearing this story, I made myself step in to disrupted injustice, both at work and in my personal life, in ways which I might have previously shied away from. I had to have difficult conversations with other white people about their implicit biases.
Some of these conversations went well, some of them did not.
But ultimately, the outcome of each of these was that inequity was disrupted in a meaningful way.
What was the impact of disrupting injustice on my own social standing and social capital?
Nothing.
My privilege ATM card had automatically replenished. It was an eye opening moment for me and a realization that I needed to continue to do more.
Stepping in and stepping back
Ever since hearing Dr. Love’s story in April, I committed myself to disrupting injustice and white supremacy when I see it in action.
I have not been perfect with this.
There are moments when my own discomfort gets in the way of saying what needs to be said. But this is a journey that I am committed to being on, which is why I am actively working to embrace discomfort.
Something I’ve been actively reflecting on is when I step in, as opposed to when I step back, in situations that are unjust. I’ve been asking myself the following questions:
Why are some situations easier or harder to disrupt? What does that say about my own paradigms of the world?
What kinds of language can I use to call others up to the work of equity when a situation is unjust?
How can I enlist others to be co-conspirators with me?
An action project: For me and you!
At the end of our antiracism cohort, we were tasked with creating an action project that would engage us with antiracism work beyond the time spent in our cohort. A reflective exercise prompted us to consider our gifts and how we might use them to advance the work of social justice.
I am in the work of education because I believe that it can be a catalyst for a more equitable world.
In order to achieve such a world, we must call others up to, and enlist them in equity, antiracist, and social justice work, particularly White people who benefit from privilege in a racist society.
My goal of this three-part blog series on antiracism and equity is to share my stories and self-reflections as a White person so as to illustrate how to be a co-conspirator and inspire others to use their privilege to create a truly equitable future.
I am not perfect in this work, nor do I want to come across that way.
I will try my best to tell all sides of the story in the hopes that it is an honest portrayal.
My sincerest hope is that, after reading this, you will join me in this work.
Join The Enlightened Educator Project!
The Enlightened Educator Project is on a mission to to develop mindful, reflective, and resilient educators to make education more humanizing and sustainable for all.
If this resonates with you, we are always looking for schools and individuals to join our cohort of educators who are building community and resilience together. Cohorts start in the Fall and Winter.
Check out our website at www.EnlightenedEducatorProject.org and learn more about our school cohort model here!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lE1Z3lQFkiZ9YZtPlvkSutdverMrBcz_/view?usp=sharing
