ALLYSHIP
Supporting marginalized communities
WATCH
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The Help — Tate Taylor, 2011 · Film · Complicated allyship between white and Black women in Jim Crow Mississippi; watch critically.
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Disclosure — Laverne Cox, 2020 · Documentary · Trans representation in Hollywood; what allyship in media actually requires.
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Pray Away — Kristine Solís, 2021 · Documentary · Former ex-gay leaders becoming allies to the community they harmed.
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Downton Abbey — Julian Fellowes, 2010–2015 · Series · Allyship across class examined in an aristocratic household.
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Just Mercy — Destin Daniel Cretton, 2019 · Film · Bryan Stevenson as a model of allyship rooted in proximity and sacrifice.
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Schindler’s List — Steven Spielberg, 1993 · Film · Allyship at its most extreme; a man who chose to risk everything.
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And the Band Played On — Roger Spottiswoode, 1993 · Film · Scientists and allies fighting for gay men dying of AIDS while government ignored them.
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Selma — Ava DuVernay, 2014 · Film · White allies in the movement and what genuine allyship demanded of them.
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On the Basis of Sex — Mimi Leder, 2018 · Film · RBG’s husband Marty as a model of feminist male allyship.
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13th — Ava DuVernay, 2016 · Documentary · Understanding the system is the prerequisite for meaningful allyship.
LISTEN
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Allyship in Action — Various · Practical conversations about what allyship looks like beyond performative gestures.
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Good Ancestor Podcast — Layla F. Saad · The inner work required for genuine allyship and anti-racism.
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Brené Brown: Unlocking Us — Various · Vulnerability, empathy, and the courage allyship requires.
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Hrishikesh Hirway: The Opposite of Loneliness · Community and allyship as antidotes to isolation.
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Code Switch — NPR · Understanding race across difference; essential listening for would-be allies.
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The Nod — Brittany Luse & Eric Eddings · Black culture explained for everyone; education for allies.
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Queer Eye Podcast — The Fab Five · Allyship, transformation, and what it means to genuinely see someone.
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Call Your Girlfriend — Aminatou Sow & Ann Friedman · Friendship across difference as a practice of allyship.
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Scene on Radio: Men — CDS · Masculinity and what male allyship to women and LGBTQ+ communities requires.
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Still Processing — Wesley Morris & Jenna Wortham · Culture criticism as a practice of cross-identity allyship.
READ
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Me and White Supremacy — Layla F. Saad · A 28-day workbook for white people doing the work of allyship.
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So You Want to Talk About Race — Ijeoma Oluo · A practical guide for allies navigating difficult conversations about race.
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How to Be an Antiracist — Ibram X. Kendi · Allyship framed as active antiracism rather than passive non-racism.
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White Fragility — Robin DiAngelo · Why white people struggle with allyship and what to do about it.
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The Purpose of Power — Alicia Garza · What real allyship to a movement means and what it demands.
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Emergent Strategy — adrienne maree brown · Allyship as relationship, practice, and long-term commitment.
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Ally: A Memoir — Dani Anguiano · First-person account of learning what allyship costs.
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Good and Mad — Rebecca Traister · Women’s anger and what allies do with their own discomfort.
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Becoming — Michelle Obama · An insider account of building allyship across race, class, and gender in public life.
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Thick — Tressie McMillan Cottom · Essays demanding that allies understand the structural before the personal.
