Chapter 39: From Antiracist To Antiracist Racist, From Ally To Accomplice

Querida Maestra, Audre Lorde,

I, Christine, was asked by this volume’s editor to write a letter to a “new” LGBTQ teacher as a “veteran” teacher who was also an “ally” to the LGBTQ community. I was honored by this invitation.

In reflecting on this request, I knew, immediately, that I wanted to write this letter from a self-critical lens, rather than from a “look what a good ally I am” lens. My first instinct was to ask LGBTQ teacher education students, colleagues, and friends for critical feedback on my work; I did, but did not receive any—critical or otherwise. While I am reasonably sure that the lack of response to my request had mostly to do with people being overcommitted, I realized in retrospect that there was something problematic with the request in the first place: it asked those with whom I am being considered an ally, to do work on my behalf so that I could supposedly do work on their behalf. In short, I was not taking responsibility for doing the work myself, and I was not doing it from the stance of “partnership with,” but rather, and to my chagrin, from that of “look what a good ally I am.”