Kate on What Does it Mean to be a White Ally?

Photo credit: Lionel Migrino

Meet Kate

The CDLI team caught up with Kate, a University of Lethbridge student who is interested in community building and inclusion. Note, the interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Kate: As a white woman, being an ally means that I'm engaged in continuous learning. I’m learning how to acknowledge my white privilege. There is fear in being white admitting that you have privilege. White people worry that it’ll devalue your success and that feeling is hard to overcome. It shouldn't be like that and I wish it is more accepted. Acknowledging privilege requires a lot of self-reflection and accepting that it does provide more opportunities. It’s recognizing that you’re no better than anyone else because you were dealt the ‘right’ cards. I'm learning to listen and understand that my voice is not the loudest voice at the table. It means not adding to or controlling the conversation. Being a white ally is being open to making mistakes and learning from criticism.

There's a lot of people on social media, who will start discussions about racism and colonialism but in my opinion, you must have conversations with friends and family. I try to move my conversations away from the Internet and into my real life so as an ally, I can act as a bridge for sharing information on anti-racism and decolonization. This is especially important for people who wouldn’t have had access to this information.