Allies and Advocates: Creating an Inclusive and Equitable Culture

by Amber Cabral

Learn to create an inclusive environment with this actionable and insightful resource Allies and Advocates: Creating an Inclusive and Equitable Culture delivers a powerful and useful message about inclusion and diversity in everyday life. Author Amber Cabral, a celebrated inclusion strategist, speaker, and writer, shows readers how to move away from discriminatory and unjust behaviors to supporting and building meaningful connections with people across our diverse backgrounds and identities. While some books settle for vague advice and catchphrases, readers of Allies and Advocates will benefit from the book's: Perfect for anyone who works in a professional environment, Allies and Advocates is especially useful for those in middle and upper management and those involved in the training and orientation of employees. If you are looking forward to building a culture of inclusivity at work or in your personal relationships, and want to learn how to use your privilege to be a better ally, Allies and Advocates: Creating an Inclusive and Equitable Culture is a must-have.

Genres: Nonfiction, Social Justice

192 pages, Paperback

Published December 13, 2022

Reviews

[Melania Andrisan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books starts with some clear points in history to make us understand why what happened in the Spring of 2020 in US is just a small part of the fight for equality and equity of the people of color but not only for them but for everyone. Continues with good advice on how to receive and provide feedback, how to be open to learn from others, be empathic, and at the same time direct. Basically, going hand in hand with what you can learn from Radical Candor as well.
The last past of the book is full of many examples on how to handle micro-aggressions(like non inclusive language, or not pronouncing right the peoples name), how to support others when they cannot handle a situation, how to protect others back, they being your friends or your colleagues. In the end all of us are in a way or another in a minority group and being empathic, learning to say sorry (sorry for this, going forward I will...) and start the change with you, will change the others around you as well.
She also points out how important is the language that we use and how "guys", "mater bedroom" or football jargon and others make people to not feel included in the group and how how allies can start changing their way for saying things and start to correct others as well.
Overall a lot of learnings packed in a easy to read book.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written shortly after the murder of George Floyd, and goes through some of the historical context of Black people in America. There's a ton of useful information on how one can be an ally to those who do not have privilege in certain scenarios, and also how one can move past being an ally to being an advocate. Amber Cabral also discusses various forms of privilege, and how someone can be privilege in on scenario, and not in another. There's also some really good concrete tips on avoiding microaggressions and how you can apologize and do better when you inevitably mess up.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twenty – Twenty was a rollercoaster of a year – with the pandemic in full swing – everyone in the working class was under pressure with hob changes and family responsibilities and more hours of working. Black women had the most responsibilities in our society but yet have the least pay and benefits in America’s capitalism. When George Floyd was murdered a lot of people had a lot of questions, and our black peers, at wits-end, needed to express.

Amber Cabral walks us through moments, stories, and truth of problematic events to teach us Allies and Advocates what really happens and what shouldn’t be happening in our society for all manner of peoples. We can’t turn a blind eye. She gives great examples of frequent an common every day moments and how we can be Allies and Advocates in those moments.

[Christie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read many books on this subject, but felt like this one was one of the most approachable and included many actionable steps for being an ally and advocate. A lot of the book was spent on definitions of various terms, which I felt like I was fairly familiar with before, but definitely still learned a few things through this reading. Highly recommend this book if you are interested in learning more about the topic and being a better ally and advocate.

Read for Those In Need Reading Challenge: Read a book about giving back to the community.

[Cym & Her Books 🍉 · Rating 5 out of 5]

"This work isn’t always going to feel good, but if you decide to do it, it will feel just, and just is what you are working for as an ally."

Thank you to the author and Goodreads for winning this book in a giveaway.

Phenomenal book. Please read this. 5 stars.

[Kimberly Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered this book because Amber Cabral was a guest speaker at my work, and it doesn't disappoint. Allies and Advocates is a straightforward, accessible read for those who are new to actively thinking about allyship. At just 150 pages and in plain language, it's not daunting to get started. Ms. Cabral doesn't speak in terms that only domain experts will use, without providing a definition, an explanation, and a real world example. She also provides questions at the end of each chapter for you to further explore your experiences and feelings about the covered topis, as well as continue your learning outside of the book.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent overview of allyship and advocacy offering extensive background of the Black Experience in the United States. Sample chapters: Language, diversity, identity and intersectionality, inclusion, bias and unconscious bias, microaggressions, equity, equality, privilege, system, systemic, systematics, isms and ist, resistance language and allyship.

Cabral primarily works in the corporate space - I borrowed this book from the library but plan to purchase it so I can read it again with a yellow highlighter.

[Avril Lyons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book overall and I think it is a great introduction to allyship and advocacy. It goes over some basic principles as well as adding some really useful exercises and journalling. I thought that the way that Cabral consistently reinforced the same basic principles over and over again in different ways and different chapters was very effective. Some may find it repetitive but for me, it felt like she was emphasizing critical information rather than being repetitive. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to get a starter "manual" on what it means to be an ally and an advocate.

[Catherine Richmond]

This book is aimed at the workplace, but it's applicable to church and social situations. I appreciate the author's warning that creating an inclusive and equitable culture is uncomfortable. Our world won't change overnight, but it won't change at all if we are silent. More examples of how to conduct difficult situations would be appreciated - I have a hard time knowing what to say in the moment.

[Malcolm Strapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved how the book clearly explained the importance of learning and understanding people, and emphasized that regardless of whether you’re Black, Brown, White, or any other color, everyone deserves to be treated fairly with the understanding of their power and privilege in the world. It also highlighted the value of equity, advocacy, and being an ally to others, while helping you better understand yourself and build stronger relationships.

[Jenifer Gager · Rating 5 out of 5]

With a compassionate and direct instructional tone, this book is chock-full of actionable advice for readers whether they are on day 30 or year 30 of their allyship journey. The author, Amber Cabral, has also included a very helpful and generous list of books, resources, reflection questions and tools.

[Marilyn Robbins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very well-written book. It avoids speaking too much in the abstracts and uses real world examples to support the concepts being discussed. I appreciated the inclusion of definitions of terms that I did not know. It read like the author was speaking directly to the reader.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very informative, but like the author says, it’s not enough to read a book about advocacy and being an ally. We need to change our behaviors, which isn’t always easy.

[Sarah Dawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

While it was uncomfortable to read at times, per Amber's advice, I'm getting more comfortable with the uncomfortable.

[Phil Griffin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great beginning for a journey many of us need to take.

[Pamela Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Applicable, authentic and "user ready" for practical, deep discussions and promoting behaviours towards sustaining inclusive teams.

[Marquitta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was able to find the audio book that had the author reading the book. This allowed me to really focus on what applies to me and what I want to change. Great book!