White women in student affairs: A narrative of racial justice allyship barriers and development

This study used narrative inquiry and critical Whiteness methodology to investigate the racial justice allyship barriers and development of White women student affairs professionals. A process of White women’s allyship development was derived from participant interviews and is comprised of three interrelated phases: barriers to taking action, wake-up calls to the realities of racial injustice, and doing the work as active racial justice allies. White women cycle through the phases, developing their racial justice allyship through repeated rotations. Implications for student affairs practice include the need for White women to take more responsibility for racial justice work, to examine their barriers to action, and not wait for permission to take action. White women are in need of antiracist White women role models, allyship in action examples, and opportunities to practice intervention and disruption strategies. Implications for future research include examining the effectiveness of White women’s affinity groups and/or individual coaching on the development of White women’s allyship.