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Some quick thoughts on “allyship fatigue.”
Yes, it sounds annoying. Yes, it sounds like 
solicitation. But it’s probably good to name this thing, which is a real phenomenon and can be a real hindrance.
solicitation. But it’s probably good to name this thing, which is a real phenomenon and can be a real hindrance.
Lemme back up. So after the 2016 election, when millions of liberal white people *last* discovered that the US was racist and they were participants in/beneficiaries of that racism, a whole lot of white ppl wanted to get involved and off the sidelines. Just like now.
And so i started pulling some string on a potential CS episode — about how Black organizers were dealing with this hydrant of white folks who were suddenly interested in being in those spaces, which of course are mostly made up of queer Black women and trans folks.
Those white people would show up to help, sincerely...and then be real, real white. They would cry and be upset and...yeah. And before having to deal with that became a distraction and add’l labor for Black organizers, they had the white folks spin-off/join their own group.
Bc they were like, look: organizing is difficult. Giving up whiteness is difficult. Being disowned by family is hard. It comes w/ costs. It’s exhausting. It’s *also* not some shit white people can or should ask oppressed people to help them work through.
Because being Black and a woman and/or queer/trans is harder than all of that by light years. And nobody has time to perpetuate the centering of whiteness.
So y’all need to show up but go over there and and figure out how to support each other and hold each other accountable.
So y’all need to show up but go over there and and figure out how to support each other and hold each other accountable.
So it probably helps to name this dynamic in order to address it and find ways for ppl to sustain themselves as they do that work without burdening oppressed folks with it.
(And clearly I’m talking about white people who are actually doing radical organizing in support of Black/Brown organizers here and not the I-listened-to-Code-Switch-and-read-White-Fragility-and-am-anti-racist-now folks.)
In my experience, radical Black organizers ate conceptually ahead of the rest of us in so many ways and also relentlessly pragmatic.
(higher up i wrote 'queer Black women and trans folks.' but it's queer BW, trans folks, GNC folks, and queer Black men. My bad, y'all.)
we, cis straight BM...weakest links, etc
