Rae Johnson on Activism and Moving Beyond Allyship
Categories: Interview
Rae Johnson
This year we asked NAB authors about what queer magic means to them, the Black trans experience, activism in 2023, and what it means to move beyond allyship. Read on below for a response by Rae Johnson, author of Embodied Activism.
“To transcend allyship, it’s crucial to recognize our own complicity with the status quo, relinquish power and control, and take on the perspectives of others.”
What are your hopes for activism in 2023?
My vision for activism in 2023 centers on the conscious integration of the body into our social justice efforts. Embodied activism emphasizes the crucial importance of connecting with one’s own body, emotions, and everyday experiences to engage in transformative change from the inside out and the ground up. Embodied activists recognize the interconnectedness of our physical, emotional, and social selves —striving to embody the values we espouse while aligning our feelings, thoughts, emotions, and behaviors with our commitment to social justice. By grounding our activism in our everyday embodied experiences, we can create more authentic connections, foster empathy across entrenched social differences, and challenge systemic injustices at a deeper level.
What does it look like to move beyond allyship?
Allyship involves standing in solidarity with marginalized communities and supporting their causes but the practice of allyship can inadvertently perpetuate power imbalances by endorsing the notion of a privileged savior who’s invested in helping those less fortunate. To transcend allyship, it’s crucial to recognize our own complicity with the status quo, relinquish power and control, and take on the perspectives of others. From an embodied perspective, moving beyond allyship means becoming accomplices in the shared work of mutual liberation in ways that recognize our innate intercorporeality—the intricate and embedded ways in which our bodies heal and get free together.
