In Canada, progress towards reconciliation with Aboriginal Peoples has been slow, in part because of a lack of emphasis on interpersonal reconciliation—changes in the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours of non-Aboriginal Canadians. Physical distance, prejudicial public discourses, and insufficient, ineffective education for the public pose barriers to renewed relationships between settlers and Aboriginal Peoples. Drawing from transformative learning theory and pedagogy for the privileged, this narrative inquiry examines critical events in the lives of eight white settlers living in Mi’kmaw territory in Nova Scotia. The study uncovers factors which have prompted some Euro-Canadians to take up their responsibility for reconciliation and enabled them to stand as allies with the Mi’kmaq. The transformation process in settler allies was catalyzed by a combination of personal, intrinsic, and extrinsic events. New relationships between settlers and the Mi’kmaq were founded around shared interests or goals, and friendships provided an important foundation for learning. Hearing the personal stories of Mi’kmaw people challenged stereotypes and misinformation about Aboriginal Peoples. Settlers’ learning was further supported by immersion in Mi’kmaw communities or contexts, time spent on the land, and mentoring by Mi’kmaw people. Allies reported that the satisfaction they derived from relationships with Mi’kmaw people as well as a desire to do good and see justice done sustained these relationships over the longer term. The study suggests that a lengthy period of awareness raising and confidence building followed by opportunities for informal, experiential learning and face-to-face interactions are key elements in settler decolonization.

In order to learn from non-Indigenous researchers who have engaged in respectful relationships with Indigenous communities, this study sought to explore the preparation and experiences of a group of non-Indigenous researchers at the University of Victoria who have sustained research partnerships with Indigenous communities. The existing literature suggests methodologies, processes and procedures that the non-Indigenous researchers should consider when engaging in research with Indigenous communities (Battiste, 1998; Wilson, 2007; Menzies 2004; Fleras, 2004); however, it does not address issues of researcher preparedness or readiness. Through a narrative inquiry process, this study examines the ways non-Indigenous researchers’ personal characteristics, values, knowledge, skills, and prior life experiences contribute to their abilities to research respectfully and sustainably with Indigenous peoples. Findings show that participants in this study embody an ally-based orientation and employ decolonizing methodologies. / Graduate

Racism is a serious barrier to achieving employment equity in Canada. The intersectional nature of oppression creates a situation where, based on various characteristics including gender, place of birth, and ethnic group membership, individuals experience employment related racism differently from one another. This intersectionality indicates that policies that may protect one marginalized group may not protect all groups equally. Through an examination of current employment equity research and reports, an overview of employment equity and human rights legislation in Canada, and an analysis of data collected in three interviews with Black men living in Victoria, British Columbia, a series of recommendations are made for employers, allies, and policy changes. This research illuminates the inequity of employment experiences in Canada, and provides suggestions for next steps forward from members of a population currently underserved by existing employment equity measures. / Graduate / 0733 / 0631 / 0630 / jmetz@uvic.ca

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2006. Graduate Programme in Social Anthroplogy. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 159-164). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR29612

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1953. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (p. 140-141).

This study contains qualitative portraits based on the stories of three white university professors who are nominated by their students as white allies. Through the thick description of setting and context, white privilege is named as the researcher's experience and that of each of the participants. The researcher examines ways in which each participant strives to disrupt racism. Using a lens of critical theory applied through critical pedagogy and critical whiteness philosophies, the researcher highlights the following themes as they emerge: education, exposure, empathy, and engagement. This study contributes to the literature by providing examples of white professors challenging racism in a university setting.

Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / This study aimed to investigate how male university students become involved in activism to end sexual violence against women. Historically, gender-based violence (GBV) prevention efforts have been a women's issue and men have not typically been part of this violence prevention picture. However, in the past two decades there have been increasing efforts to involve men. This has been motivated by growing recognition that, "while most men do not use violence against women, when violence does occur it is perpetrated largely by men and the ideas and behaviours linked to masculinity are highly influential in men's use of violence against women" (Flood 2011, p. 361). This project focuses on the Silent Protest, a campaign against sexual violence initiated in 2006 at Rhodes University. Since its inception the Silent Protest exclusively recruited women but, in 2011, men were actively invited and encouraged to participate as allies in activism to end sexual violence. This study aims to investigate the pathways through which male university students come to be involved in the Silent Protest and the meanings they derive from participation in protest activities. Men who participated in the Silent Protest were interviewed and the transcripts were analysed from an interpretative phenomenological framework. It was found that participation was motivated by an awareness of rape as a significant societal problem, a desire to make a difference, wanting emotional closure and as a result of the influence of family and friends. Participation resulted in both negative and positive experiences for male students. Positive experiences included a sense of accomplishment and pride and a sense of solidarity whilst negative experiences were feelings of helplessness, guilt and shock, feeling drained, and feeling grouped with rapists. Enhancing knowledge in this area can serve a critical role in informing outreach efforts on how best to engage and involve men in working towards ending sexual violence against women.

The purpose of this study is to better understand the experiences of allies in social movements,in this case the Black Lives Matter movement in Sweden. The sociological relevance lies in understanding how allies balance being active in a movement that departs from an identity category to which one is an outsider, and what this means in terms of responsibility, privilege, and problems. 11 qualitative interviews with self-identified White allies constitute the data, which has been analyzed and interpreted in relation to theories of modernity and situated knowledge. The results indicate that the ally role is perceived as meaningful and rewarding, but surrounded by different aspects to carefully balance. These balances relate to the term interpretation privilege, a political term related to the concept of situated knowledge, and it both motivates and paralyzes the allies in their navigation in ally work.

Autobiographical accounts of interracial friendships tend to take on unrealistic Huck-andJim-type dimensions, particularly in southern musicians’ autobiographies, where musical compatibility is often mistaken for a larger sense of harmony. A select few memoirs, however, have dispensed with this master narrative to illustrate instances of overcoming segregation through interpersonal means. In the vein of fellow Alabamian W.C. Handy’s The Father of the Blues, (1941), jazz composer/performer Willie Ruff’s A Call to Assembly (1991) uses the tools of African American respectability politics (ideals of democracy, Christianity and common humanity) to build more balanced relationships with young white contemporaries also enraptured by jazz, in the process shaming segregationists. In this case, music paves the way for whites’ understanding of larger social equality. In Bakhtinian terms, this authorial positioning is “centripetal” (literally meaning “rotation toward the center”), affirming unity and common core values to the reader. By contrast, bebop musician Dizzy Gillespie in his To Be or Not to Bop (1979) takes on more centrifugal proportions, “clowning” his way around segregation like the time-honored trickster figure, finding allies in the jazz counterculture in the west, the north and abroad, beyond the reach of Jim Crow. Like Ruff, though, Gillespie takes advantage of jazz’s strategies to escape the trap of asymmetrical “friendships.” By eschewing the platitudes of the interracialbrotherhood tale, Ruff and Gillespie reveal the reciprocity and sacrifice necessary for white ally ship and establish jazz as a medium for political expression and true collaboration.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) researchers and organizations recognize that a large gender and racial disparity exists in these fields. However, individuals with intersectional identities (i.e., Black women) have unique experiences of bias that preclude them from entering STEM careers and feeling a sense of belonging. As such, featuring an employee that demonstrates allyship for Black women on an organization’s website can be a useful identity-safe cue to signal that a Black woman’s identity will be valued and promote the recruitment of Black women in STEM organizations. Yet, research indicates that Black women who are high in stigma consciousness (i.e., sensitive to potential discrimination based on their identity) do not trust or believe a White woman ally presented in a written profile cares about helping Black women. The current study found that presenting an ally in a video profile mitigated these negative effects of stigma consciousness, and increased Black women’s anticipated belonging and trust in a fictional STEM organization via higher perceptions of allyship. Theoretical implications for research, practical implications for organizations, and future research avenues to explore are discussed