Beyond Questions and Discussions, there is a Need for Action

Allies for Life? Lessons From White Scholars of Multicultural Psychology

“…Participants described their mentoring style as emphasizing mutuality and reciprocal learning with their mentees. This approach matches earlier calls for White multicultural scholars to be mindful of how they mentor students of color to avoid adopting paternalistic approaches (Casas & San Miguel, 1993;Sue, 1993). In addition to discussing their mentorship of students of color, our participants also addressed the importance of White multicultural psychologists mentoring the next generation of White racial justice allies.…”

“…Atkinson urged scholars in the field to include a multicultural (then referred to as cross-cultural) component in their research, and called for White professors to recruit and retain racial and ethnic minority students as members of their research teams. Casas and San Miguel (1993) explained how difficult it could be for students of color to form strong mentoring relationships with White professors. They urged White mentors to explore various methods to facilitate the participation of students of color in their research networks.…”

White Allyship of Afro-Diasporic Women in the Workplace: A Transformative Strategy for Organizational Change

“…White allyship has been operationalized as engaging in critical self-reflexivity regarding one’s own biases and assumptions about race (Casas & San Miguel, 1993; Helms, 1993; Sue, 1993) and its intersection with gender (Sanchez-Hucles & Davis, 2010). The concept of interrogating Whiteness refers to an activity or work that involves critical reflection about Whiteness and privilege as well as the implications of living and working in a race-centered society (Grimes, 2001).…”

Roles and Responsibilities of White Allies: Implications for Research, Teaching, and Practice

“…Answers to this question were addressed to some degree in a symposium at the 1990 annual convention of the APA, titled “The White American Researcher in Multicultural Counseling” (Ponterotto, 1990), and within a subsequent Major Contribution in The Counseling Psychologist titled “To Do, or Not to Do: That is the Question for White Cross-Cultural Researchers” (Mio & Iwamasa, 1993). Scholars of color suggested that, to contribute effectively, White multicultural researchers must: (a) engage in critical self-reflexivity regarding their own biases and assumptions about race (Casas & San Miguel, 1993; Helms, 1993; Parham, 1993; Sue, 1993), (b) be sensitive to the justifiable suspicion and resentment scholars of color may have toward them (Parham, 1993; Sue, 1993), (c) acknowledge the sociopolitical nature of multicultural psychology on both micro and macro levels (Parham, 1993; Sue, 1993), and (d) recognize the importance of giving back to communities of color as part of the research process (Parham, 1993). Concerns with the roles of White educators in multicultural psychology have been articulated along similar lines (e.g., Sue, Lin, Torino, Capodilupo, & Rivera, 2009).…”