Welcome to the conversation!


Welcome to the conversation!

Harriet Beecher Stowe's (1811-1896) best-selling anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), made her the most famous American woman of the 19th century and galvanized the abolition movement before the Civil War.

The Stowe Center is a 21st-century museum and program center using Stowe's story to inspire social justice and positive change.

The Salons at Stowe programs are a forum to connect the challenging issues (race, gender and class) that impelled Stowe to write and act with the contemporary face of those same issues. The Salon format is based on a robust level of audience participation, with the explicit goal of promoting civic engagement. Recent topics included: Teaching Acceptance; Is Prison the New Slavery; Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North; Creativity and Change; Race, Gender and Politics Today; How to be an Advocate

This blog will expand the reach of these community conversations to the online audience. Add your posts and comments to keep the conversation going! Commit to action by clicking HERE to stay up to date on Salon and social justice news.

For updates on Stowe Center programs and events, sign up for our enews at http://harrietbeecherstowe.org/email.

Saturday, December 6, 2014

5 Ways to be an #Ally to a Community You're Not a Part Of

On November 24th, St. Louis County prosecuting attorney Robert McCulloch announced that Officer Darren Wilson would not be indicted for the killing of unarmed teenager Michael Brown. Roughly a week later, a Staten Island grand jury announced that Officer Daniel Pantaleo would not be indicted for the killing of unarmed Eric Garner. The decisions prompted protests across the country-from St. Louis to New York City to Los Angeles and New Haven. These mass protests have been characterized by their diversity; they have included individuals of all different ethnicities, races, gender identities, and sexualities, fighting for a common cause-increased accountability for police officers and a reformation of the criminal justice system. Yet, is it possible for an individual who is not a member of a marginalized group to stand in true solidarity with those that are? 

In the video below, vlogger Franchesca Ramsey details ways in which individuals can work to be effective allies to members of marginalized communities.  


Ramsey's 5 tips for being an ally: 
1. Understand your privilege.
2. Listen and do your homework.
3. Speak up, not over.
4. You'll make mistakes, apologize when you do.
5. Ally is a verb -- saying you're an ally is not enough.

How are you an ally? What are ways we can improve recognizing our own biases and privileges? What is the best way to create a diverse coalition of activists to stand-up against injustices?  

1 comment:

pamela rhinecone said...

I was talking to someone right after the Ferguson decision came out, just before the decision to not indict over the death of Eric Garner. He said something like this: white privilege is the ability to be infuriated by the Ferguson decision, but not scared by it. I think that is extremely important to remember.