Does allyship look different based on the needs of the specific community being supported and served?

The following article is the third of a four-part series examining how white Americans can be effective allies to marginalized groups, specifically Black, Latinx, immigrant, and LGBTQ+ communities. It was written by Penn State Law in University Park alumna Anna Fosberg (J.D. 2020), in collaboration with fellow 2020 alumnae Amber Bynum and Heidi Tripp, based on interviews with 19 Penn State Law students and recent graduates. All interviewees were asked the same four questions; each article in this series will revolve around one of those questions.

Read Part One Here

We interviewed our colleagues and peers for this project in search of raw and honest answers to what they personally needed from allies. But one of the interesting answers that emerged was that individuals who are part of communities in need are themselves allies to others. This fact leads to a better understanding that allyship can look different in different contexts; but, despite this fluidity, there are basic expectations and qualities that are characteristic of allyship in general.

Broadly speaking, an ally is someone who listens to others in need and learns about those needs in order to effectively help. Listening and being willing to learn are required traits for an ally, regardless of what community is being served.  In that sense, allyship is the same for everyone—but the content and context varies in different communities.

“Every community needs something different. Every community’s fight towards justice and equality is at a different level,” said Alexis Thackurdin, a 2021 juris doctor candidate at Penn State Law.

During interviews, respondents frequently discussed the distinct forms of oppression felt by different communities. If an ally is not equipped with the requisite knowledge about a specific community’s plight, they cannot effectively show up and fight for that community’s needs. Some interviewees pointed out that it would be irresponsible to assume to know what communities need or to assume that all communities need the same things. Therefore, being an ally to one community does not automatically make you equipped to be an ally to every community.

 Overall, interviewees agreed that there is no “universal ally” to all communities, despite the existence of common traits such as listening and learning.

“At the core of it, [allyship] is going to be equality and the dismantling of white supremacy throughout,” said Penn State Law alumna Vanessa Miller (J.D. 2020). “But what that [dismantling] is going to look like is going to be very different.”

More than just differences between communities, differences between individuals within a community were also often discussed.

“I can tell you how to support me, but that doesn’t mean it looks the same for the next Black woman who you ask,” said alumna Amber Bynum (J.D. 2020), a co-author of this series of articles.

Listening, educating, and amplifying voices does not equate to speaking for or over the individuals within a community. Recognizing a person’s or a community’s needs and working to meet those needs is the only way to exercise authentic allyship. Regardless of your intentions—whether you are genuinely trying to help or just trying to make yourself feel better—if your actions don’t meet the needs of an individual or community, then you are not being an ally. Performative allyship can be well intentioned but is effectively useless.

“When you stop [learning and adapting], you’re not helping anymore,” said Rebecca Heisner, a 2021 juris doctor candidate.

The best way to avoid well-intentioned but performative allyship is to be willing to adapt every day, from person to person, for the rest of your life. Realizing that allyship is determined by the needs of a community or an individual leads to a broader and more effective understanding of what it means to be an ally, but also leads to our final question in this series—is allyship the ultimate goal?

This article is based on interviews with Penn State Law Class of 2019 graduate Melissa Blanco; Class of 2020 graduates Yanna Banks, Kathryn Dutton, Christina Gottfried, Alice Gyamfi, Marcus Hobson, Ava Ibanez, Shamsiddin “Pop” Little, and Vanessa Miller; and 2021 juris doctor candidates Graham Ball, Kaitlin Briggs, Bianca Gutierrez, Rebecca Heisner, Ryan Morrison, Emory Robertson, Kelsi Robinson, Tyla Swinton, and Alexis Thackurdin.