Creating Change Through Allyship

I don’t want to sugarcoat it. Similar to how many of you feel, these past weeks have been exhausting, difficult and frightening for me.

My emotions, too, are running high, as I pace throughout my home thinking about how we can put an end to the hatred plaguing our country and our communities.

I’ve engaged in countless conversations with team members in different business areas across the Rocket Companies^®. I understand what you’re feeling, and I applaud your call for peaceful action.

Sometimes, it’s hard to know what to do to help. However, there’s one thing I believe we can all do to begin to chip away at the mountain of historical inequalities we’re looking to dismantle, and that’s allyship!

An ally is someone who openly and willingly fights for equality and equity for a group they’re not a part of or identify with. Being an ally is more than just tweeting or posting on Instagram, it involves actually speaking out and taking action to help create impactful change.  

As an ally, you may never fully understand what it feels like to be oppressed, and that’s OK. Here are a few ways we can all be allies during this time:

1. Speak out, stand up and fight for equality, even when you’re scared or uncomfortable. You can do this by:

Donating to a civil rights cause, attending a peaceful rally, writing or calling elected representatives and most importantly, voting in elections.

2. View the struggle as if it were your own by exercising empathy:

The sooner we adopt the viewpoint that social injustice is an American problem and not just an issue affecting oppressed communities, the sooner we can all come together to support one another and achieve our common goal of equality.

3.Transfer your power:

We all have a voice; some of us have the privilege of being heard over others, but when we all speak out as one and challenge bigotry head on, progress will be made. Lend your voice to those around you. Challenge the negative views held by those you encounter and do so in a respectful manner. If we all change the opinion of just one person, the world will be a better, more fair and safer place for everyone. 

1. Understand what privilege is:

Privilege does not mean that life has been handed to you, or that you have not overcome difficulty and hardship, or haven’t had to work hard to achieve your goals and status. What it does mean is that there are hardships in life that you will not experience simply because of your identity, such as race, sexual orientation, gender, etc. 

2. Listen to understand, not to respond:

When having passionate conversations, it’s easy to get fired up and set your mind on making your personal viewpoint heard. Remember, when you’re focused on replying and refuting what another person is saying, you’re not giving your full attention to the person you’re speaking with. If you want to help create change, listen to what others are saying to you. Be sure to listen to understand and speak up, not over. 

3. We all make mistakes, and that’s OK. But apologize when you do:

Nobody is perfect, there’s no arguing that fact. Learning and adopting new ideas takes time. You’re bound to make mistakes along the way, and that’s OK – it’s part of the process. But remember, when you get called out, listen, apologize, commit to changing your behavior and move forward.

4. Ally is a verb, not a noun:

Saying you are an ally is not enough, and to be quite frank, it’s disrespectful to do so if you’re not actually trying to create change. You, too, must put your words into action, not only when it’s popular, comfortable or convenient.

Adopting the characteristics above is not the only way to be an ally. At the Rocket Companies^®, we have Team Member Resource Networks (TMRN) that team members can join to learn more about culture and communities that they do not personally identify with. Through these conversations, team members can learn about issues impacting different communities and have the opportunity to speak up and share ideas that can help support the change we so desperately need. This is a great way to make their voices heard while positively impacting those around them.

This article was written by our team member Trina Scott, Chief Diversity Officer. For more stories like this, click here.