I've been asked by a few people what allies should be doing at this time to combat white supremacy, and at first I didn’t have a good idea - after all, I’m not an activist, or an academic who studies these problems. But after some reflection, I have some ideas that might be helpful, based on my own experience and what I’ve read from others.
First of all, interrogating one’s own beliefs and actions. There are far more learned people than I that have been suggesting books and articles and essays that tackle this problem head on, which I’m sure you can find relatively easily. I’d also like to add that I think that shifting one’s social perspective through the kinds of media one consumes may also be helpful. If you like to read, search out books by POC authors. If you like to listen to podcasts, look for ones with POC hosts. I’ve made a deliberate effort to read more books and listen to more podcasts by non-white, non-cisgendered men over the past several years, and it has definitely shifted the way I see the world.
Next, working within your immediate social circles - your family, your closest friends, etc. I don’t really like how a lot of the advice in this vein suggests that if you don’t go home for Thanksgiving and pick a massive fight with your racist uncle, you’re a bad ally. In my opinion, persuasion with people close to you starts with shared fundamental values. It’s of course possible that you don’t share any values with family or friends that you might be trying to bring over, but in general we tend to associate closely with people who have similar beliefs (especially if those people raised you or were raised by the same people). This work isn’t easy and it can’t be rushed, but just taking opportunities to lean in to difficult subjects where one might normally avoid discussion may yield dividends down the road.
Then there’s one’s community - whether that’s the workplace or your neighborhood or both. Amy Cooper is sort of an obvious example of this, but thinking about what one is willing to call law enforcement for and whether the potential consequences for others outweigh one’s own desires is something we should all do. You should also think about what role you are playing in the workplace. Probably most of the people reading this work in majority-white offices/labs. Are you the sort of person that your POC coworker or employee would confide in or ask for support from? If not, why not? What are you doing to increase the diversity of your workplace? Are you content to just take the people who apply to work with or for you as a representative sample? Are you trying to broadcast that you affirmatively want POC to work at your company, and then backing it up with concrete support? Do you vote with your labor and your wallet when you see workplaces that are not supportive? Do you keep open secrets from the people that need to hear them? These are just some of the questions that you should ask yourself.
Finally, there’s the question of politics. I think that is extremely wishful thinking that the election of any one person to the presidency or other major offices, much less Joe Biden, is a panacea for these problems. For one, no one person can make every government decision - the federal government and even state governments are so large that this would be impossible even if one were so inclined. It is also true that many of the abuses that we are seeing right now are result of local governmental decisions, in large cities and small towns all over the country. That being said, federal and state governments do have a role, particularly in setting up proper incentives and oversight, and making sure you vote for representatives and executives who will support those goals as well as keeping pressure on them once elected is key. More learned folks than I have done the research on what policies are actually effective (not the ones you might think!), so I’ll defer to them on the suggestions.
In that vein, you can have quite a lot of influence on local governmental actions that will materially improve the conditions in your own community. On a basic level, making sure to actually research local electoral candidates and vote in local elections is a pretty small step that one can take. Beyond that, if you are able to monetarily support candidates for local office who promise to make changes and hold others accountable, your dollars can have a much bigger impact than a drop in the ocean for national or statewide elections. You might also consider canvassing or even talking to your friends and neighbors informally to support said candidates. After the election, keeping track of how those officials act or don’t act on their promises is also vital, and putting pressure on your existing representatives. If the only people who actively participate in the political process are the ones who support the status quo, nothing will change.
These are just some ideas that I’ve been thinking about, and this document is not meant to be an exhaustive list.