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NAPABA Hate Crimes Task Force and Pro Bono Legal Resources

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Hate Crimes Resources - National Asian Pacific American Bar Association

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Talking to children after racial incidents.

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Parents have a natural instinct to teach and protect their children. Police-involved killings, the shooting of Dallas officers, peaceful protests that turn violent - incidents that are often traumatic for adults - can make these two instincts feel in conflict.

Do we try to explain the strife our child sees on television? Or should we try to shield her from such "grown up" problems?

Howard Stevenson, a clinical psychologist at Penn GSE, studies racial literacy and racial trauma. He works with educators and families to help them understand the emotions that racial incidents can bring about, and how to reduce their negative effects on health and well being.

We asked Stevenson what ideas he had for adults who are searching for a way to discuss racial incidents with their children.
Why is this a conversation parents and guardians need to have?
Stevenson: We can't hide our children from the world. Your child is probably already more aware of race, class, and gender differences than you realize. This can be a time to teach your child about social justice, while also helping process how painful these events can be for them, and for you.
Why talk about social justice?
Stevenson: Adults often have a romanticized view of childhood that ignores how much children actually know. Our research, for example, has found elementary children are acutely aware of racial attitudes. Talking about injustice allows children to make sense of the things that don't go right in the world.

At some point, your child will be treated differently. Or one of her friends will be. They will be exposed to or have a sense of unfairness or injustice that is rightfully upsetting.

Explain that: "I'd like for you to be able to talk about it if someone treats you unfairly because of the color of your skin, or because you are a girl, or because of your religion, or because of a disability."

Right now, as chaotic as things might seem, is a good time to begin having these conversations with your child. It opens the door to you saying, "Here's what we are going to do. Here's how we can face this. You might feel helpless, which is natural and OK. I want to talk to you about this so you can feel strong."
Why talk about race?
Stevenson: We tell our kids not to approach strangers promising them candy. That's a scary situation for a child to imagine. Why do we do it? So children will be prepared for what to do.

Talking about race in America can be scary. People don't want to be seen as a racist or someone trying to start a conflict. But the less prepared we are to think about race and talk about race, the scarier those conversations are when they occur. And children need tools for how to feel and speak about these issues.
Remember "Affection, Correction, and Protection"
Stevenson: Think of this as a three-step plan for conversations about race and social justice:

1. Embrace your child's difference. Make it clear how much you care about her, how her difference is a gift, not a liability, and how not everyone will view it as a positive.

2. Correct misperceptions the world has about people who are diverse. We certainly know the adult world is filled with misinformation after a racist incident makes news. Kids hear that too. Help them better understand that no one is less human than another.

3. Monitor your child's emotions before, during, and after the conversation. Say, "this is an ongoing conversation." You're going to keep talking about these issues and they should too. When another incident makes headlines, follow up.

Reason it out
Stevenson: Kids are smarter than we give them credit for. Rather than simply give them rules ("Don't talk to strangers") give them reasons ("I would be afraid that a stranger would misunderstand you.")

Explain the reasons and emotions of why you are having this talk with a child. Explain that you want them to be able to talk about what makes them afraid, because that will make them strong.

It's OK if they're upset by what's happening in the world. You are too. Any reaction, as long as it's not violent or retaliatory, is OK.
How can you partner with other parents?
Stevenson: Every parent feels isolated having these hard conversations with their children. When you have the chance, practice having a hard conversation with your partner or a friend before you have to have it with your child.

Remember that other parents are struggling in the same ways that you are. Reach out to like-minded parents in your life at church, at your kids' games, waiting to pick them up from camp. What are we trying to say? What do we think they need to hear? What feelings am I having? Can I model how to share those feelings? If we can't communicate that, maybe someone else can. Who is that?
Avoid either/or
Stevenson: There's a reason many simple stories are told in terms of good guys and bad guys: It's easy to grasp. But this either/or construction doesn't help children reflect on the complexities in the world. Everyone has a family and loved ones.

A useful lesson is to teach a child how to refute an over-simplified either/or characterization. For example, why can't it be true that all Black, White, or Brown people act a certain way?

Many instances of injustice happen because a person dehumanizes someone else. It's much easier to be cruel or unfair if you are thinking of someone as not human. Ask your child to think, what if that person were my sibling? What feelings would I have?

Or ask, how would you like to be seen if a stranger comes up to you? That's how I'd like you to think about other people.
Listen
Stevenson: Don't assume you are the only one with wisdom to bring to the conversation. Children teach us too.

The more you listen for what your child already knows, what they are concerned about, what they are afraid of, the more you'll be able to help them speak and feel confidently about matters of social justice. And keep listening, because your child will need you to keep that conversation going.

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Talking to children after racial incidents

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Parents have a natural instinct to teach and protect their children. Police-involved killings, the shooting of Dallas officers, peaceful protests that turn violent - incidents that are often traumatic for adults - can make these two instincts feel in conflict.Do we try to explain the strife our child sees on television?

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The Asian American Racial Justice Toolkit is an online toolkit for organizers and educators to teach social justice among the Asian American community. It exists online as a 300 page free downloadable pdf on a website titled: www.asianamtoolkit.org

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Asian American Activism: The Continuing Struggle

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Asian American Racial Justice Toolkit – Asian American Activism: The Continuing Struggle

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Fighting for civil rights and empowering Asian Americans to create a more just America for all.

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We use legal advocacy to influence key civil rights issues that have significant impact on Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and immigrant communities. Support our litigation campaign.

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Asian Americans Advancing Justice - AAJC: Home

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We use legal advocacy to influence key civil rights issues that have significant impact on Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and immigrant communities. Support our litigation campaign.

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Supporting kids of color in the wake of racialized violence

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Supporting Kids Of Color In the Wake Of Racialized Violence by EmbraceRace

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The recent police-involved deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, and the shootings of officers in Dallas, have left many parents, guardians, teachers and others at a loss about how best to help children make sense of these events.

The challenge is especially acute in the case of children of color, who are more likely than white kids to identify with the black and brown people disproportionately killed by police.

How can caring adults best support kids of color? How do we help children feel safe without overpromising or making them fearful? How do we teach them to approach the world with love and possibility when they so often seem targeted for harm?

EmbraceRace co-founders Andrew Grant-Thomas and Melissa Giraud had this discussion with parents, teachers and other concerned adults, as well as invited expert guests, child psychologist Dr. Allison Briscoe-Smith and educator Dr. Sandra “Chap” Chapman. They spoke via conference call on 7/14/16. 
 

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About the Show

Asian Americans is a five-hour film series that will chronicle the contributions, and challenges of Asian Americans, the fastest-growing ethnic group in America. Personal histories and new academic research will cast a fresh lens on U.S. history and the role Asian Americans have played in it.

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The history of identity, contributions, and challenges experienced by Asian Americans.

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For the 8 lives lost in Atlanta

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With heavy hearts, we call our community together to mourn the eight lives lost during the shooting on Tuesday night in Atlanta. As we pay honor to the individual victims and send our support to the survivors, it is undeniable that this was a targeted violence against Asian Women Massage Workers.

As Asian massage and sex workers, we wish to hold a space of radical love and healing for our shared communities. Please come to the vigil with a candle.

Featuring speakers from Red Canary Song, Butterfly Toronto, Asian American Feminist Collective, 18 Million Rising, and more.

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Vigil for 8 lives lost - Red Canary Song

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With heavy hearts, we call our community together to mourn the eight lives lost during the shooting on Tuesday night in Atlanta. As we pay honor to the individual victims and send our support to the survivors, it is undeniable that this was a targeted violence against Asian Women Massage Workers.

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Consider donating to the GoFundMe

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Why should you donate?
A horrific and heartbreaking surge in violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) is happening across the US. Too often, these attacks are ignored and underreported.

Together, it is our responsibility to condemn these violent acts and create lasting social change. We must amplify AAPI voices and find ways to uplift, empower, and protect the AAPI community.

The Support the AAPI Community Fund aims to do just that, addressing the urgent issues that face the AAPI community as well as broader, systemic problems. With the donations received through the Fund, GoFundMe.org will issue grants to trusted AAPI organizations working to rectify the racial inequalities in our society.

Who benefits from your donation?
Donations will support organizations that empower and uplift the AAPI community, with initiatives such as increased community safety and support for those affected by violence.

A cross-sectional advisory group of AAPI advocacy and activist leaders including APIAVote's Christine Chen, Define America's Jose Antonio Vargas, formerly BLD PWR's Lacy Lew Nguyen Wright, and Brad Jenkins of RUN AAPI; cultural leaders Phillip Lim, Gold House, and CAPE; the GoFundMe.org board, and the GoFundMe Trust and Safety teams are reviewing organizations to determine which ones will receive grants from the AAPI Community Fund. At this stage, the focus is on grassroots organizations, including, but not limited to organizations listed here.

We will continue to keep donors updated as we expand the reach of the Fund to include additional charities.

Find out more about how you can support AAPI communities.
Funds raised on this campaign will be managed by GoFundMe.org, an independent non-profit organization registered in the United States (EIN 81-2279757). Donors support the GoFundMe.org fund and GoFundMe.org then distributes donations to organizations that help those affected. Your donation is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

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Support the AAPI Community Fund, organized by GoFundMe.org

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Why should you donate? A horrific and heartbreaking surge in violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) is happening across the US. Too often, these attacks are ignored and underreported. Together, it is our responsibility to condemn these violent acts and create lasting social change.

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Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago

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Bystander Intervention Trainings

To combat the current rise in harassment and discrimination and to also proactively prepare for the future increase of hate incidents, Advancing Justice | Chicago is partnering with New York-based nonprofit Hollaback! and CAIR-Chicago to plan and implement an aggressive scaling up of locally-led bystander hate incident intervention trainings for community members.

Attend a Training

The Problem

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen a sharp rise in anti-Asian harassment across the country, with Illinois being the 3rd ranked state in number of reported incidents. When attacks towards Asians and Asian Americans started making the news, it became clear to us that the same trends we saw during 9/11 of scapegoating, blame, possible violence, and loss of business will affect our communities long term due to COVID-19.​

Our Program

learn about the types of disrespect and dangers that Asian and Asian American folks are facing right now and throughout history - from microaggressions to violence.

talk through five strategies (5Ds) for intervention and how to prioritize your own safety while intervening.

practice using the 5Ds so that participants are confident intervening the next time they witness Anti-Asian harassment.

Bystander Intervention Trainings in the News

Testimonials

"This training was thoughtful, useful, and has increased my understanding of anti-Asian/American harassment as well as better prepared me for bystander intervention. The interactive format made me think on my feet as I might need to in a real situation, and I also appreciated the hosts making space for everyone's comfort level in participating. I would absolutely recommend this training to individuals, organizations, and even businesses to learn the tools needed to help address harassment in the world today."

"After attending a training myself, I brought this training to my colleagues and graduate students. Since the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, my department has been activated and eager to do racial justice work. They have been focusing on systemic changes they can make to support BIPOC, but this training provided us with different resources and support that can be used in our daily lives. I'm thankful for this resource and the opportunity to share it with others."

"This was one of the most outstanding trainings that provided concrete, realistic and compassionate actions to help in a tense and hurtful situation."

"This training provides real, on the ground, nuts and bolts examples and techniques so that what is learned here can be applied with ease in the real world."

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Bystander Intervention Trainings - Advancing Justice-Chicago

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To combat the current rise in harassment and discrimination and to also proactively prepare for the future increase of hate incidents, Advancing Justice | Chicago is partnering with New York-based nonprofit Hollaback! and CAIR-Chicago to plan and implement an aggressive scaling up of locally-led bystander hate incident intervention trainings for community members.

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Hollaback workshops for folks targeted by xenophobia and de-escalation training (free)

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Check out our book, written by the Right To Be team, for you.

Order a copy of our first book, I've Got Your Back: The Indispensable Guide to Stopping Harassment When You See It by Emily May and Jorge Arteaga. I've Got Your Back will take you through the 5Ds of bystander intervention: Distract, Delegate, Document, Delay, and Direct, with each chapter diving deeply into how to put these 5Ds in action - whether you witness harassment in public, online, or at work.

I've Got Your Back is an invaluable resource in creating a new vision for our communities - one where we stand up for our neighbors, and our neighbors stand up for us.

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harassment training requirements by state

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Right To Be is empowering everyone to create a world without harassment and filled with humanity.

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Strategies to defeat Asian American targeting and Xenophobia

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Make a gift to support equality

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Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC

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Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC is commited to advancing the civil and human rights of Asian Americans.

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The U.S. Asian population is a diverse one. A record 23 million Asian Americans trace their roots to at least 19 countries in East and Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, each with unique histories, cultures, languages and other characteristics. The 19 largest origin groups together account for 97% of the total Asian population in the U.S.

Click on an origin group below to explore detailed demographic and economic data.
FACT SHEETS ON ASIANS IN THE U.S.

Find detailed information on the methodology for these fact sheets.

All Publications from this Topic

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The U.S. Asian population is a diverse one. A record 23 million Asian Americans trace their roots to at least 19 countries in East and Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, each with unique histories, cultures, languages and other characteristics. The 19 largest origin groups together account for 97% of the total Asian population in the U.S.

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The long history of US racism against Asian Americans, from ‘yellow peril’ to ‘model minority’ to the ‘Chinese virus’

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Members of the Massachusetts Asian American Commission protest on the steps of the Statehouse in Boston. AP Photo/Steven Senne

In a recent Washington Post op-ed, former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang called upon Asian Americans to become part of the solution against COVID-19.

In the face of rising anti-Asian racist actions - now at about 100 reported cases per day - Yang implores Asian Americans to "wear red, white, and blue" in their efforts to combat the virus.

Optimistically, before Donald Trump declared COVID-19 as the "Chinese virus," Yang believed that "getting the virus under control" would rid this country of its anti-Asian racism. But Asian American history, my field of research, suggests a sobering reality.

A history of anti-Asian racism

Up until the eve of the COVID-19 crisis, the prevailing narrative about Asian Americans was one of the model minority.

The model minority concept, developed during and after World War II, posits that Asian Americans were the ideal immigrants of color to the United States due to their economic success.

But in the United States, Asian Americans have long been considered as a threat to a nation that promoted a whites-only immigration policy. They were called a "yellow peril": unclean and unfit for citizenship in America.

In the late 19th century, white nativists spread xenophobic propaganda about Chinese uncleanliness in San Francisco. This fueled the passage of the infamous Chinese Exclusion Act, the first law in the United States that barred immigration solely based on race. Initially, the act placed a 10-year moratorium on all Chinese migration.

In the early 20th century, American officials in the Philippines, then a formal colony of the U.S., denigrated Filipinos for their supposedly unclean and uncivilized bodies. Colonial officers and doctors identified two enemies: Filipino insurgents against American rule, and "tropical diseases" festering in native bodies. By pointing to Filipinos' political and medical unruliness, these officials justified continued U.S. colonial rule in the islands.

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 to incarcerate people under suspicion as enemies to inland internment camps.

While the order also affected German- and Italian-Americans on the East Coast, the vast majority of those incarcerated in 1942 were of Japanese descent. Many of them were naturalized citizens, second- and third-generation Americans. Internees who fought in the celebrated 442nd Regiment were coerced by the United States military to prove their loyalty to a country that locked them up simply for being Japanese.

In the 21st century, even the most "multicultural" North American cities, like my hometown of Toronto, Canada, are hotbeds for virulent racism. During the 2003 SARS outbreak, Toronto saw a rise of anti-Asian racism, much like that of today.

In her 2008 study, sociologist Carrianne Leung highlights the everyday racism against Chinese and Filipina health care workers in the years that followed the SARS crisis. While publicly celebrated for their work in hospitals and other health facilities, these women found themselves fearing for their lives on their way home.

No expression of patriotism - not even being front-line workers in a pandemic - makes Asian migrants immune to racism.

Making the model minority

Over the past decade, from Pulitzer Prizes to popular films, Asian Americans have slowly been gaining better representation in Hollywood and other cultural industries.

Whereas "The Joy Luck Club" had long been the most infamous depiction of Asian-ness in Hollywood, by the 2018 Golden Globes, Sandra Oh declared her now famous adage: "It's an honor just to be Asian." It was, at least at face value, a moment of cultural inclusion.

However, so-called Asian American inclusion has a dark side.

In reality, as cultural historian Robert G. Lee has argued, inclusion can and has been used to undermine the activism of African Americans, indigenous peoples and other marginalized groups in the United States. In the words of writer Frank Chin in 1974, "Whites love us because we're not black."

For example, in 1943, a year after the United States incarcerated Japanese Americans under Executive Order 9066, Congress repealed the Chinese Exclusion Act. White liberals advocated for the repeal not out of altruism toward Chinese migrants, but to advocate for a transpacific alliance against Japan and the Axis powers.

By allowing for the free passage of Chinese migrants to the United States, the nation could show its supposed fitness as an interracial superpower that rivaled Japan and Germany. Meanwhile, incarcerated Japanese Americans in camps and African Americans were still held under Jim Crow segregation laws.

In her new book, " Opening the Gates to Asia: A Transpacific History of How America Repealed Asian Exclusion," Occidental College historian Jane Hong reveals how the United States government used Asian immigration inclusion against other minority groups at a time of social upheaval.

For example, in 1965, Lyndon B. Johnson's administration signed the much-celebrated Hart-Celler Act into law. The act primarily targeted Asian and African migrants, shifting immigration from an exclusionary quota system to an merit-based points system. However, it also imposed immigration restrictions on Latin America.

Beyond model minority politics

As history shows, Asian American communities stand to gain more working within communities and across the lines of race, rather than trying to appeal to those in power.

Japanese American activists such as the late Yuri Kochiyama worked in solidarity with other communities of color to advance the civil rights movement.

A former internee at the Jerome Relocation Center in Arkansas, Kochiyama's postwar life in Harlem, and her friendship with Malcolm X, inspired her to become active in the anti-Vietnam War and civil rights movements. In the 1980s, she and her husband Bill, himself part of the 442nd Regiment, worked at the forefront of the reparations and apology movement for Japanese internees. As a result of their efforts, Ronald Reagan signed the resulting Civil Liberties Act into law in 1988.

Kochiyama and activists like her have inspired the cross-community work of Asian American communities after them.

In Los Angeles, where I live, the Little Tokyo Service Center is among those at the forefront of grassroots organizing for affordable housing and social services in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood. While the organization's priority area is Little Tokyo and its community members, the center's work advocates for affordable housing among black and Latinx residents, as well as Japanese American and other Asian American groups.

To the northwest in Koreatown, the grassroots organization Ktown for All conducts outreach to unhoused residents of the neighborhood, regardless of ethnic background.

The coronavirus sees no borders. Likewise, I think that everyone must follow the example of these organizations and activists, past and present, to reach across borders and contribute to collective well-being.

Self-isolation, social distancing and healthy practices should not be in the service of proving one's patriotism. Instead, these precautions should be done for the sake of caring for those whom we do and do not know, inside and outside our national communities.

[ Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend. Sign up for our weekly newsletter.]

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The long history of US racism against Asian Americans, from 'yellow peril' to 'model minority' to the 'Chinese virus'

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In a recent Washington Post op-ed, former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang called upon Asian Americans to become part of the solution against COVID-19. In the face of rising anti-Asian racist actions - now at about 100 reported cases per day - Yang implores Asian Americans to "wear red, white, and blue" in their efforts to combat the virus.

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Welcome to the Guide to Allyship.

Think of this guide as one of many starting points in your journey to become a better ally. This guide isn't meant to be comprehensive nor is it perfect. There are people far more versed than I, who have dedicated their life's work to this sort of education.

In light of recent events and tragedies, I've been hearing the word "ally" a lot. Many people want to be an "ally", and even more people are unable to fulfill the duties allyship requires.

I use the word "ally" loosely because I find it overused and often abused by those who label themselves "allies." Despite its current misuse, using a different word would only cause confusion. As you read through this guide, be aware that your definition of "ally" may not be the same as the definition I'll introduce you to.

What's so special about this guide?

There are many great guides out there, and I acknowledge their existence. What's different about this guide is that it's open source (any one can contribute to it) and it doesn't get into specifics: racism, transphobia, gender discrimination, etc. and that's by design.

This guide can't and shouldn't be everything to you. At some point, you need to take responsibility and further your education. When you're done with the guide, please find ways to learn more.

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.

Don't take the responsibility of being an ally lightly.

In the summer of 2016, someone I considered an ally stood by and watched as I, a Black person, was berated by a racist. To make matters worse, I had a conversation with this person earlier in the day about the power allies can wield in situations of discrimination. But when the time came for them to take action, they were more interested in protecting their comfort.

Upset, I couldn't understand what happened. Did the conversation we had not get through? What didn't they step up? Then it dawned on me:
Saying you're an ally is much easier than actually being an ally. Saying you're an ally looks good on paper, especially if you're never questioned about your inaction.
Many self-defined "allies" wear the phrase and ideology like an article of clothing, easily discarded when it's no longer fashionable to wear.

If only those from marginalized and underinvested communities could cast away the identities marking them as targets with such ease.

I noted before that I used the word "ally" loosely. In fact, I personally no longer use the word. However, I do think it's a good starting place for those learning to be better allies. I also believe there's an opportunity to explore a better definition of the word. The best definition of "ally" (that I've found) comes from author Roxane Gay in her article for Marie Claire, "On Making Black Lives Matter." In it, she notes:

Black people do not need allies. We need people to stand up and take on the problems borne of oppression as their own, without remove or distance.

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.

We need people to use common sense to figure out how to participate in social justice.

To recap: Being an ally doesn't necessarily mean you fully understand what it feels like to be oppressed. It means you're taking on the struggle as your own.

An individual from an underinvested community cannot easily cast away the weight of their identity (or identities) shaped through oppression on a whim. They carry that weight every single day, for better or for worse. An ally understands that this is a weight that they, too, must be willing to carry and never put down.

Why allies are necessary

Anyone has the potential to be an ally. Allies recognize that though they're not a member of the underinvested and oppressed communities they support, they make a concerted effort to better understand the struggle, every single day.

Because an ally might have more privilege and recognizes said privilege, they are powerful voices alongside oppressed ones.

Being an ally is hard work.

Many would-be allies fear making mistakes that could have them labeled as "-ist" or "-ic" (racist, sexist, transphobic, homophobic, etc). But as an ally, you're also affected by a system of oppression. This means that as an ally, there is much to unlearn and learn-mistakes are expected. You need to own this as fact and should be willing to embrace the daily work of doing better.
As an ally, you need to own your mistakes and be proactive in your education, every day.
If you refuse to acknowledge that your words and actions are inherently shaped and influenced by systemic oppression, you're setting up yourself to fail.

Lack of self-awareness is not a trait of an ally. You'll be complicit in the oppression of those you intend to help. If you choose not to understand this, but label yourself an "ally", you're essentially a wolf in sheep's clothing. You'll find ways to infiltrate vulnerable communities and wield far more power than someone who is outwardly "-ist" or "-ic" because you're "trusted."

Just as society will not change overnight, neither will you. Here are some important do's and don'ts to consider as you learn, grow, and step into the role of an ally.

The Dos

Do be open to listening

Do be aware of your implicit biases

Do your research to learn more about the history of the struggle in which you are participating

Do the inner work to figure out a way to acknowledge how you participate in oppressive systems

Do the outer work and figure out how to change the oppressive systems

Do use your privilege to amplify (digitally and in-person) historically suppressed voices

Do learn how to listen and accept criticism with grace, even if it's uncomfortable

Do the work every day to learn how to be a better ally

The Don'ts

Do not expect to be taught or shown. Take it upon yourself to use the tools around you to learn and answer your questions

Do not participate for the gold medal in the "Oppression Olympics" (you don't need to compare how your struggle is "just as bad as" a marginalized person's)

Do not behave as though you know best

Do not take credit for the labor of those who are marginalized and did the work before you stepped into the picture

Do not assume that every member of an underinvested community feels oppressed

Contributed by Presley Pizzo. Please credit Presley when referencing this section.

While mistakes are to be expected, what's the best way to go about resolving them?

Note: Parts of this section were originally based on 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!

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?

Because we can think more clearly about stepping on someone's literal toes than we usually do when it comes to oppression, the problems with many common responses are obvious:

Centering yourself: "I can't believe you think I'm a toe-stepper! I'm a good person!"

Denial that others' experiences are different from your own: "I don't mind when people step on my toes."

Derailing: "Some people don't even have toes, why aren't we talking about them instead?"

Refusal to center the impacted: "All toes matter!"

Tone policing: "I'd move my foot if you'd ask me more nicely."

Denial that the problem is fixable: "Toes getting stepped on is a fact of life. You'll be better off when you accept that."

Victim blaming: "You shouldn't have been walking around people with boots!"

Withdrawing: "I thought you wanted my help, but I guess not. I'll just go home."

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.

Center the impacted: "Are you okay?"

Listen to their response and learn.

Apologize for the impact, even though you didn't intend it: "I'm sorry!"

Stop the instance: move your foot

Stop the pattern: be careful where you step in the future. When it comes to oppression, we want to actually change the "footwear" to get rid of privilege and oppression (sneakers for all!), but metaphors can only stretch so far!

Reacting in a fair and equitable way isn't about learning arbitrary rules or being a doormat. Rather, it's about restoring and maintaining dignity and respect for everyone involved - both the person who is hurt, and you. Still, it's hard to remember in the moment, because these issues are so charged in our society. As such, it may be helpful to reframe the situation so that you don't feel defensive.

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.

Try starting with "Thanks for letting me know" to put yourself in a better frame of mind. If after you say that, you need to take some time to think about the situation, that's fine, too. Just remember that this isn't about changing the other person's frame of mind. They're allowed to be upset about being oppressed.

You've made a mistake and you want to apologize. Where do you begin?

What is an apology?

Before you can apologize, you need to know what an apology is.

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.

Bad apologies are performances meant to protect pride and ego. They exist to make the apologizer feel and look good, while defending their intent.

Good apologies are heartfelt acts that let go of pride and ego. They center the pain of the impacted, regardless of the apologizer's intent.

Think of pain as a gradient-it doesn't have to be extreme to have a significant impact. Accidentally misgendering someone can cause them pain. Stepping on someone' toes can cause them pain.

Attributes of a good apology

Apologies aren't a magic fix and won't solve mistakes of the past, but there are a few attributes that make for a good apology.

Timely
Delivered at the right moment in the right place and time.

Consider the context in which you want to apologize and how that might affect not only you but also the person receiving your apology.

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).

Respects boundaries
Given when the person receiving the apology consents to it.

Your desire to give an apology right now doesn't mean that the receiver is ready for it. Some people need space to process, and you should respect that. When they're willing to reconnect, if at all, they may let you know (or they may not).

Self-aware
Know that the act of apology may not lead to the closure you expect.

The apology receiver may choose to never interact with you again. Either after you give an apology or before you give it. You have to find a way to make peace with that. Do not pressure or shame someone into accepting your apology.

One of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves is learning how to create closure within rather than expecting other people to give it to us.

Reflective
Signals that the apologizer is taking full responsibility for their actions.

Apologizing means letting go of your ego to show that you care about someone and want to make things right. Good apologies center the person being apologized to. They also take direct ownership of the actions that caused pain by naming them clearly.

This Guide is open-source, meaning that anyone can contribute. I'm a queer Black femme and my voice should not be the only one shaping this guide.

If you identify as a member of an underinvested community and want to contribute, please submit a pull-request on this GitHub repository.

If you aren't a GitHub user and would still like to contribute, send me an email at guidetoallyship [to] byamelie [dot] co.

This Guide is a labor of love and provided as a shareable resource for you to use. Please make sure to credit back to the site if you decide to use any content here.

And if you've found this Guide helpful, feel free to show your support and buy me a cup of tea.

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An open-source guide for anyone interested in becoming an ally.

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Dailywork!

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Allies are important to social justice movements because they work as agents for social change. An ally is someone who supports and advocates for the equality, equity, dignity, and rights of oppressed people groups of which they are not a part. An ally is also someone who challenges people and systems who, consciously or unconsciously, perpetuate oppression against those oppressed groups.

An ally's job is to walk alongside the oppressed people group they are supporting. This comes in many different forms, ranging from being an outside support, doing behind-the-scenes work, or being a stranger calling out oppressive comments or behaviors.

Examples include a heterosexual and/or cisgender (someone whose gender identity aligns with the gender assigned at birth) person supporting the LGBTQA community, a male joining the feminist movement, a European American person addressing racial issues against people of color, and abled people advocating for more accessibility for people with disabilities.

We all need allies and the experience of being an ally can be immensely rewarding, but sometimes it's hard to figure out where to start. There is a plethora of ways to be a great ally, and while this list is not comprehensive, it includes fundamental tips of becoming an intentional and effective ally.

1) Explore and be aware of your privileges and rights because it will help you understand how to use your power to help those who have less or no power in society.

2) Work to develop an understanding of historical and current issues oppressed people groups have and are still are experiencing. Education is key!

3) Remember that being an ally is not about you, but about the people you are supporting. Listen to their needs, their stories, and their goals.

4) Be curious. Be open. Be willing. The famous musician Frank Zappa once said, "A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it's not open."

5) Speak up, but not over. It's really good to speak up against micro-aggressions and/or discriminatory acts upon people. Just be cautious to not speak over the voices you are supporting when you do speak up.

6) Making mistakes is inevitable, especially on the road to becoming an ally. When mistakes happen, genuinely apologize, own up to it, seek accountability, learn how to get better, and forgive yourself. Nobody is perfect! That's why we need each other.

7) Educate and challenge the people you associate with and the people who share your identities. If you're a male seeking to advocate for women's rights, educate your male friends about women's issues. If you identify as a heterosexual person and have heterosexual friends who make remarks about LGBTQAs, speak up and have respectful dialogue about it.

8) Use inclusive language! For example, use people-first language such as "person with a disability" instead of "handicapped or disabled person" so as not to make a certain characteristic become their primary identity. Another example is the use of "humanity" versus "mankind" because it includes other genders.

9) Don't be a lone ally - anyone who is working against oppression needs support and encouragement. Find other allies for support, encouragement, and for a bigger impact for the groups you're supporting.

10) Understand that being an ally is a life-long journey.

11) Associate yourself with the people in the groups you are supporting. Genuinely build relationships with them. This will give you a better opportunity in not only relationship building and hearing their stories but also in building trust and community between each other.

Do you want to learn more about being an ally? If so, check out Jamie Utt's blog about being an ally. It offers some witty examples about what an ally is (or is not) and more advice on how to be a good ally. For a more corporate sense of allyship, read this article from Forbes.

By Tracy Moua, Daily Work Social Work Intern 2014-15

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Understanding What it Means to be an Ally ~ Daily Work

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Allies are important to social justice movements because they work as agents for social change. An ally is someone who supports and advocates for the equality, equity, dignity, and rights of oppressed people groups of which they are not a part.

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Pronunciation Guide to Atlanta Spa Shooting Victims with Korean / Chinese Names

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AAJA has released a pronunciation guide for victims in the Atlanta spa shootings with Chinese-language and Korean-language names.

As more information emerges about the victims' identities, center their stories and those within the community. Please consult members of the AAPI community to ensure accurate spelling and pronunciation of Asian names. 

In our video pronunciation guide, reporters Janice Yu and Frances Wang state the correct pronunciation of each of the Chinese- and Korean-language names. Six of the eight victims are Asian.

Soon Chung Park
Hyun Jung Grant Please note the video pronunciation guide uses Hyun Jung Grant. A crowdfunding page set up by her family members uses her maiden name Hyun Jung Kim.
Suncha Kim
Yong Ae Yue
Xiaojie Tan
Daoyou Feng

Without the names written in Hanzi or Hangul respectively, the tonal representation may not be accurate. We ask reporters to best mimic the sounds pronounced in the video. 

Access our guidance here: https://aaja.org/2021/03/17/aaja-guidance-on-atlanta-shootings/

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What would it take for America to heal? To be the country it claims to be?

This is the question that animates Bryan Stevenson's career. Stevenson is the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, a clinical professor at the New York University School of Law, a MacArthur "genius," and the author of the remarkable book Just Mercy - which was recently turned into a feature film where Stevenson was played by Michael B. Jordan.

I admire Stevenson tremendously. He has lived a life dedicated to justice - justice for individuals (some of whom he has rescued from death row) and justice for the society he lives in. He's one of the fairly few people I've found with avision for how America could find justice on the far shore of its own history. That vision is particularly needed now and so I asked him to return to The Ezra Klein Show to share it. To my delight, he agreed.

This conversation is about truth and reconciliation in America - and about whether truth would actually lead to reconciliation in America. It's about what the process of reckoning with our past sins and present wounds would look and feel and sound like. It's about what we can learn from countries like Germany and South Africa, that have walked further down this path than we have. And it's about the country and community that could lie on the other side of that confrontation.

An edited transcript from our conversation follows. The full conversation can be heard on The Ezra Klein Show.

Ezra Klein

What is a healthy relationship for society to have with its own history?

Bryan Stevenson

Knowing the actual history. If you don't know your history, you can't really begin to understand what your obligations are, what your responsibilities are, what you should fear, what you should celebrate, what's honorable and what's not honorable.

The big problem we have in the United States is that we don't actually know our history. We don't know about the centuries of racial injustice. We don't know about the native genocide. You say "native genocide" and people have no idea what you're talking about. They think you're saying something radical.

Once you know that history, you begin to think differently about who we are. We got comfortable with creating a Constitution that talks about equality and justice for all, but didn't apply to millions of Indigenous people who were on this land. And so until you understand that history, you can't begin thinking about, well, what are your responsibilities now? What are your obligations now? What would it take to recover from that kind of violence, that kind of destruction that we did to millions of Indigenous people?

And, of course, that failure to acknowledge that history is what makes us vulnerable to the two-and-a-half centuries of slavery that follow. We've invested a lot of time in creating false narratives about slavery, about enslavers, about the South, about the North, about emancipation, about abolitionists - many of whom didn't believe in slavery but also didn't believe in racial equality. And the legacy of that is very different than the legacy we've been taught.

So for me, it begins with honesty. If you've done something wrong to someone else and you genuinely don't know what you've done wrong, you're not going to be able to fully reconcile with that person. You're not going to be able to adequately apologize. You're not going to be able to say the things you need to say to create a path toward recovery. You have to know what you did. And once you understand what you did, you can then begin to calibrate all the things that have to happen for you to try to make peace. For you to recover. To create fellowship again.

We have committed ourselves in this country to silence about our history, to ignorance about our history, to denying our history. And that's the first part of this relationship that has to be repaired. We've got to be willing now to talk honestly about who we are and how we got here.

Ezra Klein

A word you used a few times there was "we." But when we begin having this conversation about our history, the shared national identity that gets taken for granted in other contexts begins to dissolve very fast. After 9/11, or after winning World War II or during an election, people talk about Americans as a "we" no matter when their ancestors got here. They tend to associate themselves with its founding, its lineages, its victories.

But then you get into its misdeeds, its injustices, its sins, and the idea there is a "we" here becomes very difficult for people. People say things like, " Well, I wasn't here. I didn't do any of that. My grandparents came here from Ireland in 1942."

How do you deal with the pronouns in this conversation? Who is talking? Who is listening? Who owes what to whom?

Bryan Stevenson

I think you're exactly right. There is a tendency when it comes to mistakes, misconduct, abuse, to disassociate yourself from those things while running to embrace every aspect of achievement. "We won the most medals at the United States Olympics." Well, you didn't win any medals, but we do invoke ownership.

So I believe it's important for anyone who identifies as an American, as a citizen of this country, to not simply embrace all the things about American history that we think are glorious and wonderful, but to also acknowledge and accept the things about our history that are tragic and devastating.

What's interesting for me, when I look at the experience of African Americans in particular, Black people have been so committed to this country, they've been so committed to the identity of an America that is committed to equality and justice.

In the 250 years of enslavement in which Black people endured being kidnapped, put in chains, brutalized, mistreated, abused, raped - there was daily humiliation and degradation, the violence of slavery. That kind of abuse and mistreatment finally ends in 1865 after the Civil War, after the ratification of the 13th Amendment. And instead of seeking revenge or retribution or violence against those who had enslaved them, emancipated Black people said, "We're going to make peace here. We're going to make community here. We're going to commit to education. We're going to commit to voting. We're going to become ideal American citizens. "

When you think about all of the brutality and violence and abuse that Black people suffered and they still were willing to live in harmony with those who had abused them, it says something remarkable about the power of "we." They believed in an America and they got no credit for that. What they got instead was more abuse. There were over 2,000 lynchings between 1865 and 1877. One of the most violent periods in American history.

And yet, for 100 years, they still believed enough in the American idea that they would continue finding ways to contribute. You saw those contributions in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. And then when they got back from war, they'd be targeted for violence by white supremacists who feared their American military service might cause them to believe that they were an equal. What Dr. King and Rosa Parks and others do in the 1950s and '60s is so rooted in a commitment to the American identity.

To me, the model that African Americans have established with this country is that even when things are not good we invoke this idea of an American identity. It means that we absolutely have to be willing to acknowledge the things that are harmful, that are injurious in the American South. The entire American South benefited from the institution of slavery - the entire United States did. The rail lines that allowed those companies in the North to become industrialists, the industries that gave rise to all of that growth during the first half of the 20th century - all of it had its roots in this forced labor stolen from Black bodies.

We have to understand that to really be honest. There is no way of saying "they did that." If we're going to claim American citizenship and American identity, there has to be a willingness to say "we" just like there's that willingness to say "we" when an American does something great.

Ezra Klein

In an interview you did at MOMA in 2015, you had this line that I haven't been able to stop thinking about since: "We need to engage everyone in a meaningful conversation about what it would take to cleanse ourselves of the legacy of slavery."

When I first heard that I thought it was obvious. And then I realized that almost every word in that sentence could take a lifetime to unpack. We began with the first word in that sentence: "we." But let me go to one of the next pieces of it, which is "engage everyone."

The conversations we have in this country, to the extent we have them at all, are polarized and fractured. So how do we engage everyone in a conversation about America's foundational sins?

Bryan Stevenson

I think it begins with an understanding of what actually happened. The true evil of American slavery wasn't involuntary servitude or the forced labor. It wasn't the bondage. The real evil of slavery was the ideology that we created - that Black people are less deserving, less worthy, less human, less evolved.

If you understand that's the true problem of slavery, then it becomes easier to understand how we don't really end slavery with the passage of the 13th Amendment. In 1865, my view is that slavery doesn't end - it just evolves. Because we never deal with the fundamental character that made enslavement so horrific, which is this ideology of white supremacy.

Once you understand that, then you can continue to see that legacy play out in the disenfranchisement and exclusion of Black people from jobs in the North and West in the 1950s. When banks don't give Black people mortgage loans, they don't help veterans who are Black move into the middle class. You begin to see it in the '70s and '80s when we declared this war on drugs and we target Black communities. You see it inthe ways in which police violence manifests itself.

And once you understand that, you begin to understand that you are implicated in this story. You are implicated in this moment that we live in where the smog created by our history of racial injustice is still in the air and we're still breathing it in and it's corrupting our world view, just like it corrupted the world view of people before us. So it does begin with that understanding.

Ezra Klein

What does that engagement actually look like? What is the structure in which people are pulled into this conversation so they can get to that understanding?

Bryan Stevenson

I think it's local. It's intimate. It's familial, it's communal. It's statewide. It's nationwide. I think every entity, every institution has to commit to this process of truth-telling.

I think it's really important that people understand that if you're genuinely engaged and recovering from human rights abuses, you have to commit to truth-telling first. You can't jump to reconciliation. You can't jump to reparation or restoration until you tell the truth. Until you know the nature of the injuries, you can't actually speak to the kind of remedies that are going to be necessary.

For me, that's very immediate. I believe colleges and universities need to have their own truth-telling process to document the ways in which they contributed to the history of racial inequality, the history of white supremacy. If you were acollege and university functioning in the first half of the 20th century, there are things you should acknowledge you did to sustain racial inequality. Corporations, banks, insurance companies all played a critical role in allowing racial injustice and white supremacy to prevail throughout the 20th century.

You don't have to go outside of your own institutions. You can begin with your own truth-telling. You can tell your own story about the ways in which you are complicit. For me, that's got to be the way it works.

There are places in the American South that have to address things that were unique to this region. We didn't allow Black people to vote inmany states in the American South for a century. It took blood and violence and federal troops and congressional acts just to give people their right to vote. And there was no shame about denying people their right to vote.

The North wins the Civil War and the South wins the narrative war because not only do they not apologize, they actually double down and say what we did by enslaving people and forming this Confederacy was noble and glorious and honorable. And when that's your mindset, you don't get to the right place. That didn't happen when lynching becomes less prominent in the 1950s. It didn't happen in the 1960s after the passage of the civil rights laws. It hasn't happened yet.

So I want to say to the state of Alabama: Will you reckon with your history of enslavement, your history of lynching, your history of segregation? What are you going to say? What are you going to be reckoned with?

In 1965, we should have said: If you're really sorry about all of this abuse and disenfranchisement, if you really want to do something to recover from a century of disenfranchisement, thestate of Alabama ought to say, "We're going to register every Black person when they turn 18. We no longer want the burden to be on Black people who have been discouraged and abused and turned away and humiliated and threatened for trying to vote. We're going to take that burden. We're going to register every Black person."

We're going to say to the University of Alabama, University of Georgia, and some of these schools that were adamantly opposed to integration, if those universities really want to reckon, then maybe they're going to say, " We don't think Black people who are residents of the state should have to pay tuition. We think we should take that on as a way of recovering, responding to this history of exclusion."

Banks could be thinking very differently about what they owe African Americans in this country when they reckon with the history of exclusion. The military could be thinking about what it owes to Black veterans when it allowed banks and American institutions to turn veterans away because of the color of their skin. Companies have that same responsibility. The government has that same responsibility.

But for me, it begins with the truth-telling, because when you start telling the truth, you recognize things. For me, the question is: What is the truth of our institution as it relates to the history of racial inequality? It's very, very concrete. How do we frame an investigation into the truth of our history? What is the truth of our history? What is our institutions' role? What is our community's role in allowing this landscape to be created that is so shattered by racial injustice and white supremacy?

Ezra Klein

Barbara Lee recently proposed a Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Commission. Do you think that is a model that could work here, and how do you imagine it looking? And for those who don't know, can you talk about the truth and reconciliation process more generally?

Bryan Stevenson

There are countries that have engaged in a national effort of truth-telling. We saw that in South Africa after the collapse of apartheid. The truth and reconciliation process there was very powerful. The victims of apartheid had an opportunity to tell their stories. The perpetrators were also required to speak to their role. It was an important process.

We've seen it in Rwanda, where the victims of the genocide have been invited to give voice to their suffering, their loss. The prisons were filled with perpetrators of that violence and there was a reckoning around it.

Obviously, in Germany, we've seen a dramatic transformation of that country's landscape so that you now have stones and symbols and memorials and monuments throughout cities like Berlin. There's a Holocaust memorial in the center of Berlin. Every student in Germany as an elementary school student is required to go to the Holocaust memorials and learn that history. Police officers are required to study that history. And so it can be effective at the national level.

I'm very supportive of Representative Lee's commission. But I want to caution that the difference between South Africa and Rwanda and Germany and the United States is that there was a transfer of power in each of those countries. Black South Africans took over South Africa once they had the vote - it's a Black majority country. In Rwanda, the victims of the genocide ultimately regained power through military intervention. So in each case, the parameters of that truth-telling were shaped by people who had been victimized. In Germany, the Nazis lost the war. We wouldn't see all of that iconography honoring victims of the Holocaust in Berlin had the Nazis prevailed.

With that transfer of power, we had the opportunity to do some things that we don't have in this country. The people who were the perpetrators of so much of this bigotry and violence are still in power. There was no transfer in power after the Civil War, after the era of lynching, even after the civil rights movement. And because of that, it's going to have to be much more atomized. I think we should have a national truth-telling commission, but that is not going to be an excuse for banks and schools and corporations and industries and police departments and localities from engaging in their own truth-telling.

I think we have to try to get people to understand that when we confront this history, we don't have to fear punishment. I'm a lawyer. I defend people who have done things that are terrible. And I'm persuaded that each of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done.

Because of that, I want to talk about this history of enslavement and of native genocide and of lynching and segregation, not because I'm interested in punishing America. I want to liberate us. I really do believe there is something better waiting for us. I think there's something that feels more like freedom. There's something that feels more like equality. There's something that feels more like justice that we have yet to experience in this country.

And if we are committed to this idea of America, if we believe in this idea of America, then we ought to figure out how we're going to get to that promise that we have been denied because we have been unwilling to acknowledge the past. That's the beauty that awaits us if we're willing to take that step.

We opened this memorial that is dedicated to thousands of victims of racial terror lynchings. And for me, it's been so affirming to see people come into that space. Black and white people, many of them are in tears. Many of them will wrap their arms around the monuments that represent the communities where they are from, a need to see them sobbing. But through that pain, there is beauty that emerges. You begin to see the possibility of restoration.

But until we tell the truth, we deny ourselves the opportunity for beauty. Justice can be beautiful. Reconciliation can be beautiful. Repair can be beautiful. It's powerful to actually experience redemption. And we deny ourselves that when we insist on denying our broken past, our ugly past, our racist past, when we insist on avoiding the truth.

And because there hasn't been a military intervention, because we are not a Black majority in this country, because there isn't hopefully some war that transitions power, we're going to have to compel people, call people, push people to see the beauty that comes with truth-telling and personal relationship.

You can't overcome abuse, you can't overcome violence, you can't overcome victimization if you're unwilling to reckon with all that you have suffered. And that's the only power we possess when it comes to pushing this country. Nothing good has ever come from things that are easy. To do hard things, you gotta confront them. And so there's no way forward at this moment in our history that doesn't involve some discomfort and doesn't involve some inconvenience. And you just have to find the capacity and the courage to embrace that.

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What would it take for America to heal? To be the country it claims to be? This is the question that animates Bryan Stevenson's career.