We want to make allyship less of something you have to think about and more something that integrated into your life, and that’s why a subscription box makes perfect sense. Our hope is that these commitments that subscribers are making indicate they’re in it for the long haul. It’s easy to read one thing and not have a direct connection to continuing the work. A subscription box is a way to build in consistency and continued commitment. Transformation happens when commitment meets consistency. Why do you think a box was the most effective way to motivate potential allies? Whereas the box is created by black women. You have a rundown on your site about the box versus the safety pin, and how wearing a safety pin is very passive and also something created by allies, not the people they’re purporting to help. When fragility comes up, when people get sensitive about things that they shouldn’t because that’s part of the process-this was a way for us to put the work in a digestible format for people who are committed to really engage with. Because a lot of times these interactions can be painful. We came up with this idea of providing some guidance and putting it into a format that doesn’t harm black people, doesn’t harm people of color. One of the lessons from the election results and the timbre of the country right now is we need all hands on deck, right? We have a period of time coming up that’s going to require a lot more people engaged in meaningful ways for change and resistance.Īlso, there’s an expectation of allyship and solidarity, but I have found lamentably that with lots of people who are not part of marginalized communities, they don’t understand what real solidarity means. No one is really doing the work in a way that we find effective, so that’s the number one motivating factor. In a lot of activist circles, there is the common refrain “it’s not my job to educate you.” Why did you want to make it your job to educate white people about injustice? We spoke with Mac about giving back to black women, what it takes to make a good ally, and how the box is not about giving white people a “pass.” Essentially, it is Blue Apron for white allies, a subscription box that comes with tangible actions to accomplish every month in order to actively shift power to marginalized people. ![]() ![]() Leslie Mac and Marissa Jeane Johnson, longtime activists and organizers, figured there had to be a better way to be an ally, so they launched the Safety Pin Box. It requires the marginalized person to seek out the safety-pin wearer, and at its worst, acts as a balm for allies, convincing them they’re helping while putting in no active work. The idea stemmed from a similar movement in England post-Brexit, but it’s one that is pretty lazy on the part of the ally. The safety pin came under harsh criticism. The idea was by wearing a safety pin on your clothing, you identified yourself as an ally, someone who was willing to use their position of privilege to fight for marginalized people. After the election, the movement for social justice surged with renewed fervor and produced the safety pin.
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