"Allyship: an active, consistent, and arduous practice of unlearning and re-evaluating, in which a person in a position of privilege and power seeks to operate in solidarity with a marginalized group." --The Anti-Oppression Network

What does allyship look like inside your store?

The first things bookstores think of, naturally, are the books they carry. The inventories and displays, the books featured on the staff picks shelf or included in the newsletter.

Creating diverse displays and promoting BIPOC and LGBTQ+ writers is arguably the first and most visible thing a bookstore does to signal to its community it seeks to be a space welcome to all. It is also the easiest thing to do. But as the definition above notes, allyship is active, consistent, and a process of constant re-evaluation of the things we take for granted.

Are you an ally to your own employees?

When was the last time you as an owner or manager took a hard look at your hiring process or employee handbook? The chances are the language and the assumptions about your workforce is outdated, especially if your materials came from a template. Make time to review employee materials for things like gendered language, assumptions about marital status or sexual orientation, religious affiliations or cultural and ethnic identities. Review, especially, materials about health and safety: do they include mental health support?

One of the best steps employers can take is to create ways for everyone to be heard. This could be as simple as implementing a "no interruptions" rule at staff meetings (you might be surprised how often it happens if you start listening for it), letting the staff take the lead during meetings, or it could be as involved as establishing resource and support groups for staff where they can talk about their issues before (or if) they decide to bring them to the manager or owner.

There are hundreds of guides to allyship for business owners available -- even a cursory search will return an overwhelming number of results. But there are a few practices they all have in common:

• Listen more than you talk
• Be aware of your own biases
• Educate yourself about the struggles faced by those you wish to support
• Learn to accept criticism
• Accept allyship as an ongoing process.

That last item is not a warning, it's an invitation to help create a better world.