"White ally" is a term coined by Beverly Daniel Tatum (who wrote "Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?"). Tatum defines a white ally as "an antiracist, a white man or woman who is clearly identifiable as an ally to people of color in the struggle against racism (Tatum, 1994, page 462).
In my research of white allies in ESL education, I discovered the book "Refusing Racism: White Allies and the Struggle for Civil Rights" by Cynthia Stokes Brown. Brown takes a white ally to be someone who "takes a public stand against the racist assumptions that surround one, against the prevailing system of white supremacy" (Brown, 2002, page 4).
According to Brown, the issues that surround white allies are:
1.) Are there consequences for white people in their stance (ostracism, loss of job opportunities, loss of upward mobility)?
2.) How can white people understand an oppression that they had not experienced?
3.) Are white people really able to support people of color?
4.) Even if they can talk equality, can white people relinquish privilege to balance the scales?
These are applicable to the issues presented in the epilogue of Schmidt-Ruggiano's book. Mrs. Starr did experience some ostracism in her push for multicultural curriculum. Regardless of her approach in class, it was not until Mrs. Starr was able to meet with Raji and Peley's families that she was better able to understand their experience and how that influenced their schooling. Can anyone else find any other connections between what I've researched on white allies and the experience of Mrs. Starr, Peley, and Raji?
I feel like Mrs. Starr really struggled with the concept of being a white ally until she had someone come from the outside and look in. She is in place thought to help future children coming through her class open their minds to other cultures and communities. I am really disappointed though that all her fellow teachers gave in so quick to the challenge. Change is never easy. Small steps can make such a big difference in peoples lives. Look at Rosa Parks, not standing up was such a famous moment and how big a step was it really? To me it was a small step that made a huge difference and grew into one of the greatest movements in the history of not just our nation but the world.
ReplyDeleteI think Mrs. Starr may not have known the term White Ally, like myself. But I think she learned to become one in this book. That she took steps and risks within her school, with her job, to become an allie for her students that are from different cultures and it was impacting how they experienced education in our assimilationist system. But like Dominick says above....the other teachers were less open to make small changes. Taking that first step is just looking around and being aware...attempting to look from the position of someone else's shoes.
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