This is a non-story, but there are very REAL stories behind ones like this that don't get airtime: theft of time and labor from scholars of color who work to decenter whiteness--and the true meaning of allyship. (A thread.)https://twitter.com/insidehighered/status/1235234056012517384 …
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Yesterday, I was having a great day writing my book on - wait for it - how scholars of color navigate the academy, when I received a media request citing "concerns" about the
#MLA21 panel I'm co-organizing.Näytä tämä ketju -
The upshot: how dare there be a space at a conference "designated" for scholars of color to discuss decentering whiteness? This might discourage allies! Way to prove the point about centering whiteness in the academy, white people.
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Here's what happens when a white person is deeply concerned about whether or not white people will have a platform to perform allyship and decides to complain to the higher ed press about it: 1. I read the media request. I panic. Bye, great writing day.
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2. I write to one of my best friends, saying "OMG, what is this, I can't even." 3. He interrupts his work day to respond. And keeps doing so for the rest of the day. And evening. And also all this morning. 4. I call someone for advice. Their work day is interrupted.
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5. The person I called talks to two more people for advice. See where we're going with this? 6. Two hours get wasted on how to respond. 7. I get on a call for another meeting, where my colleagues have to repeat themselves because it's totally obvious I'm not paying attention.
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8. A good friend writes to offer to take care of some work. I say, "Yes, please, because I am busy being a reverse racist." 9. She interrupts her day to hear the story, give advice, and roll her eyes. (And does the work I'm not doing because I'm busy being a reverse racist.)
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10. I count just how many people's time and labor has now been wasted on white people wanting to center whiteness for a roundtable on DECENTERING whiteness that, oh by the way, also has a companion roundtable FOR WHITE PEOPLE.
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This, by the way, *isn't* allyship. True allyship is fundamentally redistributive. It's not proclaiming oneself an ally or performing allyship. It's the willingness to GIVE and to GIVE UP something. I am deeply grateful to the people who showed me allyship yesterday.
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Allyship means getting off the stage. It means being okay that some speaking slots aren't for you--and not emailing
@insidehighered to complain.Näytä tämä ketju -
Allyship means knowing that while you were getting cookies for caring about "diversity," no one gaves us cookies. They just stole our time. You don't need to share the cookies, you just need to get out the way sometimes so the people with experience can be heard.
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As a brown woman not known for being friendly and cuddly, I get two general responses from white people: 1) they ignore me or 2) they try to hug me really hard (sometimes literally). Rare is true allyship -- the willingness to redistribute power, to give up what could be yours.
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I have been fortunate to work with people who have shown me what true allyship is. They'd be embarassed if I named them because they're not doing it for cookies, but there's the one who insisted on not being first author.
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There's the one who insisted on not being PI on a huge fancy grant b/c I hadn't been on one. There's the crew who took some work of my plate at a moment I was struggling. These are amazing models of allyship.
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Now I'm fortunate to be in the position in my career where I can do the same for other people. And yes, it means giving something up -- but the potential impact is worth so so so much more.
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For the higher ed media: if you want to be allies in the fight against white supremacy in the academy, don't create stories where there are none, based on the concern trolling of white people who feel left out. Want to tell a real story? Tell this one.
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If white people don't know why it would be acceptable to designate speaker slots for scholars of color on a roundtable about decentering whiteness, they are the problem--not us.
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Is every other conference space, every other campus space -- hell, the totality of our working lives and sometimes even our personal lives too -- not enough for them? Whose problem is it, really? FIN
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