Anti-Racist Ally: An Introduction to Activism & Action

By Sophie Williams

Join the fight for racially marginalized people with this pocket-sized guide filled with practical insights from one of the leading voices of the movement for equality and founder of the @officialmillennialblack Instagram.

As the tragic murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement has demonstrated, not being racist is not enough. To fulfill the American ideal, to ensure that all people are equal, you must be actively anti-racist. 

In this essential guide, Sophie Williams, goes beyond her popular Instagram @officialmillennialblack, providing sharp, simple, and insightful steps anyone can take to be a better ally in the fight against racism. While the book’s focus is on race, it also touches on  sexism, classism, ableism, oppression, and white supremacy. 

Written in her iconic Instagram style, this pocket-sized guide is a crucial starting point for every anti-racist ally, covering complex topics at the heart of anti-racist principles. Whether you are just finding your voice, have made a start but aren’t sure what to do next, or want a fresh viewpoint, Anti-Racist Ally introduces and explains the language of change and shows you how to challenge the system, beginning with yourself. Sophie reminds you that this is a learning process, which means facing difficult truths, becoming uncomfortable, and working through the embarrassment and discomfort. 

The fight for justice isn’t easy there aren’t any shortcuts or quick wins. But together, anti-racist allies can use their power to truly change the world and lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Feb 16, 2021
• ISBN: 9780063081369

Sophie Williams

Sophie Williams is a professional speaker, the author of Millennial Black & Anti-Racist Ally, a TED speaker, the voice behind @OfficialMillennialBlack, and a racial equity consultant. As a speaker, Sophie regularly delivers keynotes, presentations, workshops and training sessions for businesses such as Apple, Amazon, Google, Barclays, the NHS, The Rio Ferdinand Foundation, UK Civil Service, Sky and Cambridge University. She leads frank and necessary discussions around race, gender and the intersection of the two, with a particular focus on Blackness and womaness and their impact on Black women’s lived experiences in UK and US workplaces. Sophie’s writing has appeared in publications such as The Guardian, Bustle, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Refinery29, Elle and Grazia.

Book preview

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Introduction

Discussion of terms

Not being racist is not enough

Become an anti-racist ally

Let’s talk about intersectionality

What does racism look like now?

Allyship anxieties

Start with yourself

Become an ally in your social circle

Become an ally in your workplace

Become an ally at home and in your communities

Become an economic ally

Keep up the momentum

Further Reading

Endnotes

About the Author

Copyright

About the Publisher

Introduction

Hi! Congratulations on taking your first step in becoming an anti-racist ally. I’m so glad to have you here.

This book is deliberately small and a starting point for those who want to learn to become anti-racist allies, by joining the fight for racial equality, or for those who have already made a start but don’t know what to do next, or how to keep up the momentum.

It’s a bite-sized introduction to the things you need to know to lay the best foundation in your anti-racist allyship journey. You can share it with people in your life who want to use their voices and platforms to make the world a better place but don’t know where to begin, or those with whom you want to have difficult conversations. It’s a small and accessible resource for you to refer back to along the way.

Although I’ve spent years working in and talking about social justice, I began writing this book in the wake of the series of tragic murders that shocked the world in 2020 and galvanized many who had never considered their role in anti-racism to take action in their own lives.

I want to be honest with you from the very start, allyship is not always easy—there are no shortcuts or quick wins—but it’s nowhere near as difficult as facing racism in your everyday life. You will have conversations with people who simply do not want to change the way things have always been. Speaking truth to power and saying it with your whole chest is not meant to be easy. If it were, it would have already happened. There will be a lot of times when you feel that you’re pushing against a brick wall. There will be other times when it feels like you’re making good progress, only to be told no or be let down at the last minute. Moments like that can’t be the end of your journey, they must instead be a chance to regroup, take stock, and try again, even harder than before.

The purpose of this book is to challenge the things we’ve been taught based on white supremacy, and to seek better and fairer ways to move forward. Questioning the ways by which we operate can feel threatening, or even like an attack, and our response to that can be to close ourselves off and become defensive. It’s important to remember that this is a learning process, and part of that is facing difficult truths, feeling uncomfortable, and working through that. Fight the urge to pull away, and make space for discomfort.

Finally, while anti-racism is the focus of this book, the conversation about allyship is not limited to race. Each of us is an individual, made up of several facets. Our race is one of these, but so is our sexuality, gender identity, neurodiversity, class, socio-economic status, disability status, among many others. I hope some of the things we discuss here will help you to feel empowered and encouraged to be the best ally that you can be to all marginalized people.

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