Kwanzaa for Allies, Day 2: Supporting POC economic self-determination

Committing to smartly directing financial resources is an important but under-discussed aspect of allyship.

Though Kwanzaa is talked about as a time of celebration and reflection for people from the African Diaspora, the fact that it is grounded in universal principles means that it provides a good framework for anyone doing some year-end reflection, especially for those concerned with social change. In this year of some degree of racial reckoning, anti-racism allies would be well served by using the themes of Kwanzaa as prompts to think about one or more of four key questions that aspiring anti-racism allies need to keep in mind.

How are my thoughts and actions helping me:

1. sustain my anti-racism ally work?

2. support from people from racially oppressed communities?

3. move racism skeptics to an increased understanding of racism against people of color?

4. support and grow the community of other anti-racism allies?

The theme of Day 2 of Kwanzaa is kujichagulia, which means self-determination. There are many ways of thinking about this of course, but one that white allies should not ignore is the way that racism has undermined the economic self-determination of communities of color (question 2 above). For centuries, government policies and informal practices have…