Pride & Allyship

Growing up in an Orthodox Jewish home, every morning at the start of our prayers we would say “I accept upon myself the commandment to love my neighbor as myself”. 

The cardinal rule.

Love yourself… and then that love emanates from you and extends to everyone around you.

I was thinking this past weekend about what Pride Month means to me.

As a straight woman, what does it mean to be a true ally for the LGBTQ+ community, and really what does it mean to be an ally of any community that I’m not directly a part of?

It all comes back to this cardinal rule.

It’s not (just) posting a supportive post once a year.

It’s not (just) marching in a parade.

It’s not (just) making a donation to an organization that helps that community.

It’s all of those things and so much more.

Being an ally is not just WHAT you do (though those are all important things)…

It’s WHO you are that drives you to do those things.

It’s who you are in the way that you show up to the world- for yourself and for those around you.

Equality, empathy, respect, authenticity and love are all part of my core values. They are part of who I am and what I believe we need to lead with to make true change and true impact in the world.

And that also means showing up for what I believe, even when I feel others don’t show up for me.

To me, that’s true allyship… and that’s how I want to show up not just this month, but every month and every day.

P.S. I’m a life and impact coach for mission-driven people in the music industry. How are you using your talent, your work, your experience to show up as the strongest ally you can be? Let’s get on a call and chat about it…