Denying Allyship: Or "What's a 'White Guy' Like You Doing in a Topic Like This?"

It is an interesting time to be involved in diversity, equity, and inclusion (or DEI). More and more companies are adopting programs and appointing officers to focus on DEI. At the same time, different politicians and state governments are putting in prohibitions and barriers to teaching and training on the topic. Perhaps no more has the topic been more reviled, or more needed. For those who are committed to the ideas of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, it is an all-hands-on-deck moment.

Which is why it has been interesting, and a little puzzling, when I tell people that I do work in DEI to hear the question in response, “What is a person like you doing work in DEI?” Even though they don’t specify what they mean by “a person like you”, it is pretty clear what they mean. Sometimes people are more straightforward and clarifying by specifying “a white guy like you.”

I guess the point they are wondering about is “why would you care about this stuff since you are part of the group that benefits from traditional power structures?”

There is a lot to unpack here. The first point is the assumption that I am “white.” Being Arab American (my mother’s side of my family is from present-day Lebanon and Syria), there is a history of how Arab Americans have straddled the color line. While officially and legally categorized as white, people of Arab ancestry often have not been treated in that way. As a person who has specialized Arab-American studies, it is a topic that I know well. I know the ways that Arabs have been targeted in immigration laws, stereotyped in mass media, characterized in news media, ostracized in society, and loyalties questioned. These are sentiments I have seen from afar, and heard directly in conversation when people didn’t know of my background. So whether or not I am “white” is an open question.

Beyond that, there is the question of why would people consider DEI & B to be an important topic only to those who come from marginalized groups and have suffered from institutional discrimination?

If you are committed to the ideals behind the DEI concepts, then you are committed irrespective of your own personal stake in them. Anti-abolitionists were probably asked, “Why do you care about the plight of slaves when you are not a slave?” The answer can be as simple as, “Because it is immoral and wrong, and I don’t want to be part of a society in which it exists.” Or, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. put it, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” If you care about a just and fair society, you should care about DEI.

This conversation also makes me think about what it means to be an “Ally.” The term “Ally” is one that is being used with greater frequency in relation to DEI and social justice. To be an Ally generally means to stand in support of a social category that is being threatened by those more powerful, or fighting against social and institutional discrimination. Often, those who are Allies may experience privilege in the sense that they are the beneficiaries of the status quo through their belonging to particular social category. Allies act in support of a group to which they do not belong because they believe in foundational principles such as equity, justice, fairness, equal opportunity, and the like.

Once again, these are concepts that are universal. There is no doubt that different social categories have experienced greater amounts of injustice, inequity, discrimination, disenfranchisement, etc. However, nearly everyone has experienced some amount of these negative actions in their lives. This is not to equate or minimize, but to say there is the opportunity for present these topics as more broadly relatable beyond social categorization.

Here I find it useful to differentiate between different levels of injustice and inequity:

·         Historical – A legacy of unequal treatment against a particular social category and its members.

·         Structural – Systemic and institutional unequal treatment against those belonging to a particular social category.

·         Organizational – Unequal treatment that is experienced within the confines of a particular organization or community.

·         Situational – Unequal treatment that might emerge in a particular context or event, but not necessarily part of a larger system of discrimination.

·         Interpersonal – Unequal treatment that occurs between individuals in which one is not treated fairly by another person.

We might also think about the macro-, meso-, and micro-levels here. A person might not experience discrimination at a macro level, but might experience it at a micro level. Also, while a person belongs to a group that has experienced historical and structural discrimination, there might be situations in which discrimination is not experienced directly.

The purpose of this classification exercise is not to claim that everyone has experienced injustice in the same way, or negate the suffering of certain groups. Rather, it is to emphasize that nearly everyone can relate to these concepts based on their own personal experiences at some level. This creates the opportunity to expand those who have an interest in the principles of DEI to everyone. It is not about being an Ally for DEI, because at some level DEI is all of us.

This is where the concept of ‘intersectionality’ becomes so powerful because there are many different social categories that can impact and influence our life experiences. Race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, economic status, political ideology, physical characteristics, etc. There are any number of ways that these elements can combine to create different experiences and treatment for people and groups. The point being that many of us have had the opportunity at different times to experience discrimination and injustice based on the social categories that we either belong to or have been placed in.

When thinking about, approaching, and creating a DEI strategy and program, it is then important to put in place what I call an inclusive DEI program based on the following elements:

1.       Emphasize the foundational principles of DEI not as they relate to any particular group, but to those who care about these topics.

2.       Talk about the different levels of inequity and disenfranchisement.

3.       Create space for people to connect with these levels through their own experiences.

4.       Speak about the ways in which we all can act toward making social environments that are more in line with the principles of DEI.

Denied Allyship, then, has two meanings. The first is to see non-BIPOC persons and gender conforming persons part of the DEI movement when their commitment is demonstrated. DEI is not just about redressing sins of the past, but realizing potential of the future. Everyone has a role to play in both.

The second point is to disconnect the idea of Allyship from DEI concepts. I don’t mean to dismiss the importance of being an Ally. It makes sense to talk about Allyship when supporting the rights of those who are parts of groups that we are not. Being an Ally means advocating for the rights of those who are negatively impacted by injustice when the Ally is not directly impacted. To work with, to act in support of, to speak on behalf of, to advocate for. But when it comes to foundational principles of DEI, as well as the idea of social justice, these are things that can affect everyone and therefore are of relevance to us all.

Ultimately, by creating inclusive opportunities for engaging in DEI, we can create a greater movement for the type of society that we believe should exist and can work together to bring into existence.