acknowledgement

  • Acknowledgment is acceptance of the truth or existence of something.
  • This month is an ideal time to learn about black history and acknowledge how systematic racism has been oppressing non-white people for centuries in America.
  • There are many great resources to learn about black history, please visit the Ally Action Project's Resource page to learn more.

    • executive orders

  • President Biden has issued 42 executive orders by 1/29/21, 7 of which deal with equality.
  • The laws address preventing workplace discrimination, rebuking Asian American xenophobia, and open up talks with Native Americans.
  • Systems of racism in education, prison systems, housing, and the military were also involved.
  • We welcome these changes, and we can inspect how our individual activism can take advantage of these new norms.

    • Martin Luther King, Jr Holiday

  • Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is celebrated on the 3rd Monday in January and is a day of reflection and service to honor his legacy of fighting for civil rights.
  • The holiday was 1st first proposed 4 days after his assassination in 1968 by John Conyers, but did not get voted on until 1979, and was passed in 1983.
  • The 1st celebration of MLK Day was in 1986, but many states did not participate due to cost and racism. The final state, NH, began celebrating in 2000.

    • engage politically like an ally

  • Local and national politics are the most effective system to provide changes for equality.
  • There are many tools (I Side With, Ballotpedia, and Vote Smart) that show where candidates and elected officials stand on various issues as well as explaining your ballot more clearly.
  • Identify your local leadership at the state, county, city, school district, and neighborhood levels so that you can effectively engage in politics to create change.

    • act local like an ally

  • Get involved locally through regional branches of national organizations that you support.
  • Take action by voting with your dollars to boycott companies that oppress or fund oppressive groups and support minority owned companies.
  • Volunteer locally in underserved places where inequality has occurred, for example, help in food pantries in inner cities where food deserts and redlining have limited the opportunities.

    • think global like an ally

  • Once you learn more about inequality, decide if there is a specific systems of inequality that you are passionate about removing.
  • Refer to the Ally Action Project Resource page for a starting point for national groups.
  • Join a group to better understand your passion, and see if they are working towards your same goal.
  • Participate with the groups you join, volunteer where possible, donate time and/or money to help bring equality.

    • insist on diversity like an ally

  • Diversity has been proven to increase productivity across teams in the workplace.
  • President Biden has insisted on a cabinet and government that look like the diversity in America.
  • Insisting on diverse teams, job candidates, and committees provides views and opinions that make better group decisions.

    • take action like an ally

  • Be aware of inequality in the conversations, meetings, and social circles that you take part in.
  • Be aware of discrimination around you and be willing to stand up for minority groups in the moment, not privately afterwards.
  • Be clear when offering correction on what the behavior being corrected.
  • Take action when discrimination happens to explain how the behavior offends you as an ally and that it is not acceptable.

    • see privilege like an ally

  • There are groups who are seen as the norm, mainly whites, males, and heterosexuals.
  • White privilege means there are inherent advantages in society for a white person based on race.
  • An example is the amount of times people of color are pulled over vs white drivers due to distrust of non-white races.
  • Recognize privilege, in yourself and others, so that you can extend that privilege to everyone.

    • learning like an ally

  • Inequality has always been around, and it is worthwhile to learn world history to understand how it impacts us today.
  • Our boundary is on the impacts of inequality on the population of the US today.
  • Visit the Ally Action Project resources page as a starting point on what groups to follow and sites to explore.

    • how to be an ally

  • Allies are individuals who act as collaborators, accomplices, and coconspirators to fight systemic racism and create equality.
  • The first step to becoming an ally is to learn about injustices and listen to the different perspective of women and people of color.
  • The Ally Action Project is centered in a desire to take these learning and to inspire action that accelerates bringing equality to our society.

    • removing microaggressions

  • The US has 1400+ geographic features and places with Negro, Squaw, or Asia slurs in their name.
  • Texas passed a law in 1991 to ban using Negro in naming features, but the law was blocked at the federal level.
  • NM Rep. Deb Haaland, the incoming Security of the Interior under Pres. Biden, sponsored a bill in 2020, but it has not passed the House.
  • Congress is ending the 2020 session, but we can start conversations now to promote this bill in 2021.

    • studying reparations

  • After the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, the DC Emancipation Act paid $300 reparations per slave to slave owners, while the slaves received nothing.
  • The HR40 bill hopes to establish a commission to study and develop Reparation proposals for African-Americans as a result of slavery and the after effects.
  • Educate yourself on the latest version of the HR40 bill that has been languishing in some form in Congress for 31 years.

    • mapping equality

  • The most used world map was created by Gerardus Mercator in 1569, which enlarges Europe.
  • Several map projections are being created to show area-correct countries and combat the myth of dominant colonial countries.
  • The Boston School district famously changed to the Gall-Peters projection in 2017 in an effort to remove the Eurocentric view.
  • Find and email your local school board, who can influence the curriculum being taught.

    • covid-19 racial disparity

  • As of Fall 2020, covid-19 rates for minority groups are higher than whites (Hispanic 4.6x, Black 4.7x, Native American 5.3x higher).
  • The CDC and states are failing at keeping records of race for minorities who have been infected, hospitalized, and died from covid-19.
  • The documented rates of racial disparity for the virus are likely much lower than the reality.
  • Help stop the spread by staying home, wearing a mask, and not engaging in group settings.

    • Native American Thanksgiving

  • Half of the 102 pilgrims survived the first year at Plimoth, build upon the ruins of a Patuxet village.
  • The pilgrims celebrated their harvest, enabled by Tisquantum who taught the pilgrims to farm.
  • In the decades after the pilgrim's arrival, an estimated 300k Native Americans were killed in New England and more were enslaved in the West Indies.
  • The National Day of Mourning began in 1970 when Wamsutta, a Wampanoag leader, was silenced from giving a speech about the first Thanksgiving.

    • Georgia runoff election

  • GA's runoff election is on 1/5/21 and will decide the senate majority.
  • The deadline to register for the GA runoff election is 12/7/20.
  • The candidates for the Democratic Party are Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff.
  • Volunteer with and donate to Fair Fight, the Stacy Abrams nonprofit to help defeat voter suppression in GA.

    • who we are

  • ally: al··ly | \ ə-ˈlī , ˈa-ˌlī
    to unite or form a connection or relation between.
  • action: ac··tion | \ ˈak-shən
    the accomplishment of a thing usually over a period of time, in stages, or with the possibility of repetition.
  • project: proj··ect | \ ˈprä-ˌjekt , -jikt
    a specific plan or design.

    • mission

    To inspire action that accelerates bringing equality to our society.







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    ally@allyactionproject.com

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