By: Jay Sloan, MSW Student

In preparing to co-present a program titled LGBT 101 (Queer Issues in Higher Ed), I had the opportunity to have a very fruitful conversion on allyship vs. co-conspiratorship with my brilliant co-presenters Dr. Dyann Logwood and Hannah Bollin.  We discussed the language, in particular which of the two terms was most appropriate for that particular presentation. I expressed some initial hesitation because in many of the experiences of folks in oppressed groups, allyship has become such a flimsy concept in recent years, with cisgender, heterosexual and/or white folks taking up the moniker without taking on any of the work. We decided to use the term ally for the presentation, which was an amazing learning opportunity for everyone involved, but I found myself revisiting this conversation over and over. In thinking about this, I found that so many students on campus with marginalized experiences, myself included, primarily look for allyship with teeth and meaningful co-conspiratorship. 

According to the Anti-Oppression Network, allyship is defined as “an active, consistent, and arduous practice of unlearning and re-evaluating, in which a person in a position of privilege and power seeks to operate in solidarity with a marginalized group.” Allies are necessary to marginalized groups for many reasons, but perhaps what is most interesting is that they are the proof that once faced with the experiences of folks experiencing marginalization, folks experiencing privilege make a conscious decision to either rely on systems of inequity for their own benefit or learn to disrupt them. Allies are generally not concerned with calling themselves allies, but rather with being recognized as allies by the communities they want to ally with. 

That being said, those of us who experience marginalization as a result of the identities we hold are sensitive to the term “ally” and are generally skeptical of self-proclaimed allies. Being an ally is choosing to take a supportive role, to step away from being centered, and to give deference to folks who actively experience inequity. Allies take time to listen and understand and do not take up space in these conversations. Most of all, allies are genuine and intentional; they are considerate of history, policy, and cultural norms that may serve as a barrier to their own understanding and provide context to the wants and needs of those they seek to ally with. 

Students are actively seeking allies in faculty and staff. They want to be welcomed into spaces that are affirming, intentionally focused on being safe(r), and resourced.  The ally has the duty of building community with students while maintaining appropriate professional boundaries. The ally must listen to students without the expectation that they will serve as a main source of education. The ally accepts being uncomfortable and acknowledges that meaningful change does not exist in the comfort of the status quo. The ally must acknowledge their own privilege(s) and be willing to discuss them as well as invite criticism as an opportunity to become a better ally. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, an ally directs their work towards accomplice work, which is defined by Dr. Tiffany Jana as a reactive response to injustice and inequity. 

Co-conspiratorship is in many ways an evolution of allyship, and I appreciate Dr. Jana’s framing of this as a spectrum of development, as opposed to rigid categories. However, the role of a co-conspirator looks drastically different from allyship. Co-conspirators are with the communities they support, having, seeking, and maintaining relationships with the people they ally with.  They are there not with the hopes of being invited to proverbial cookouts, to wear certain things, or use certain language, but simply to use the privileges they are afforded (earned or otherwise) to disrupt systems of oppression the community experiences. In a now famous clip, Dr. Bettina Love says that allies “know all the language, have read all the books, they come to the meetings - they know all the terms, and after the meetings they’re gone.” Dr. Love clearly delineates the difference between the two being primarily that “co-conspirators put something on the line” for the people they want to ally with. Co-conspirators ask how to show up without pretending to be doing new work or hosting a new conversation.  They seek to uplift the folks who are already doing the work.

Dr. Love uses potent examples of co-conspirators in history, including now nameless abolitionists who used their lives, bodies, homes, and financial resources to assist in liberating enslaved folks. She included James Tyson, who is a much lesser-known co-conspirator from the 2015 removal of a confederate flag from the South Carolina statehouse grounds, which launched Bree Newsome into national headlines. Tyson used his body and therefore his white privilege to defend Newsome from being tased off of the pole, giving an excellent demonstration of co-conspiratorship.

I’ve learned that co-conspiratorship is not a radical departure from allyship; actually, it is the only logical trajectory for any true ally. It is radical and intentional and genuine. A co-conspirator understands inequity in resources intimately and shares whatever resources they have. Whether it's time, money, or their life, a co-conspirator is willing to put aside what other people in their social strata think about them, and prioritize the needs of the folks they seek to ally with. On campus, co-conspirators make time and are never far from the students or faculty that they support. Co-conspirators join protests, share opportunities, go above and beyond to create equity in their spaces, and most of all they are committed to unlearning. 

To conclude, as much as we need more co-conspirators on campus, we also need more allies in faculty and staff. We need more allies in administration, more folks who are willing to prioritize the needs and interests of the students over securing more acclaim for themselves. There is no room for ego in this work. So many of us are ashamed to admit what we don’t know.  Sometimes, we take an expert view of something because we think we should and in doing so we rob not only ourselves of an opportunity to become a better ally.  I encourage everyone that has made it this far into this blog entry to get some skin in the game.  Interact with resources at the Faculty Development Center, the LGBT Resource Center, and with other departments on campus centering the student experience, which can make you a better ally. We need you!