8 Ways to Be An Effective Ally to The Black Lives Matter Movement

By Joshua Boyd

I have had a fair amount of friends asking if it is their place to share statuses and posts about everything going on. To give a short answer, YES. But there are correct ways to do it.

1. Avoid virtue signaling.

This is when you are sharing support but the main message that people take from it you are a good, virtuous person. Basically, the post is useless in actually doing anything. It usually comes from a good place, but often does nothing but show your own moral stance.

2. Listen to black voices.

Give us the platform and give us the microphone. Share content without adding your personal feelings other than support. Call or message a black friend to talk about what is going on and what their experiences are. Ask them personally how you can support them. Do not go to someone that is just an acquaintance or the only black person you know of unless they have said they are open to it. If they are a close friend, ask if they would mind talking to you. If you feel you have no one to talk to about it, feel free to get in touch with me any time.

3. Share messages from leaders in the black community.

There are many misconceptions about BLM and black leaders in general. I get the impression that people feel BLM as an organization and other black leaders aren't actually taking steps towards bringing changes. Some believe that we don't care about riots or black on black violence. Many aren't aware of the many inner city programs and activism that takes place. We need you to help share leaders like Killer Mike speaking on current events, and share organizations and programs bringing change.

4. Educate yourself, and then teach what you've learned.

If there is a book, article, speech, or anything that you learned from about race, share that. I think the most important thing a person can do is educate themselves on what's going on. When it comes to questions like "how do I talk to my kids about race?" or "what is white privilege?" there are a lot of great resources. You don't need to be responsible for educating your white friends, give them the resources to learn.

5. Voice your outrage and advocate for justice and change.

It is highly encouraging to see that so many of my white friends are not OK with what has happened and outrage at the harmful systems in place. It can be tricky doing this while not virtue signaling, but calling out the problems in the world and drawing attention to it is different then drawing attention to yourself and your moral compass.

6. Join us, stand with us, and support us.

Support doesn't just mean money. Have our backs. Stand with us in protests. Sign petitions. Use your privilege and connections. I was so moved by the photo of more than a dozen white women standing on the front line of a protest, knowing that the police would be less likely to be combative towards a bunch of middle aged white women than they would be facing a group of blacks and young adults of any race. If able, donate to organizations that are making a difference.

7. Don't hide from the discomfort and difficult conversations.

I shared a post recently saying it is more helpful to not just unfriend or block people that disagree, but to challenge them. I don't think you need to keep toxic people in your life necessarily, but to let toxicity go unchallenged doesn't help towards the goal. When I know men that are expressing toxic views of women, I try to speak up and challenge them. After that though, I will most certainly not associate with them moving forward if they are too closed minded to change. I almost posted something out of anger saying "how convenient for you that you can just turn off racism in your life", but I didn't think it would be helpful to say it like that. The people that hold prejudiced or racist beliefs likely aren't friends with me on social media, so please use your voice to challenge them.

8. Support how you would like to be supported.

If you are a woman, member of the LGBTQ+ community, or other minority group, consider how you'd like to be supported in the many crisis you have faced. I too struggle with how to help when it comes to the Me Too movement, or how to support my queer friends after they experience tragedy. It always goes back to educating myself, addressing my own shortcomings, and listening to and sharing voices from the community. In my personal life, I need to challenge my own prejudices and wrong doings, and then share with others what I have learned that changed my perspective.

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I have been so encouraged by the amount of people that have reached out to me or have been active on social media and in the real world. WE NEED YOU. This isn't just a "black issue" for us black people to change or solve. Racism, injustice, abuse of power, and systematic issues affect all of us. If things are going to change, we need allies. This has been a difficult time, but it feels different than previous moments where the outrage and push for change died down in a week or two. We are on the cusp of figuring out how to change all of this. Don't stop fighting.