How To Move From Ally To Accomplice
Forbes. By Marybeth Gasman.
In From Ally to Accomplice, Seena Hodges pushes the reader to move beyond their comfort zone to do deeper work and take risks in supporting anti-racism. Hodges is the founder and CEO of The Woke Coach and leads anti-racist programming and trainings for clients inside and out of higher education. Her clients have included Red Wing Shoe Company, the Walker Arts Center, and the University of Minnesota, among many others.
I reached out to her to learn more about her perspectives, especially amid the current backlash against anything considered “woke” or diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) focused.
I wanted to know what inspired her to write her new book and how her personal and professional experiences shaped the book’s message. Hodges shared, “From Ally to Accomplice was born out of both urgency and a deep desire to help people move from intention to impact in their racial equity work. Over the years, I’ve seen many well-meaning individuals—especially white folks—who want to make a difference but don’t know how, or are afraid of getting it wrong. Too often, allyship becomes a title people claim rather than a practice rooted in accountability and risk.”
Hodges has spent much of her career facilitating conversations during which discomfort is necessary to spur transformation. She explained, “I wrote this book to offer a path forward that’s honest and accessible. It doesn’t sugarcoat the work but doesn’t shame people out of trying.” She added, “My goal was to invite people beyond performative allyship into something deeper: a daily commitment to action, reflection, and systemic change.” Hodges included stories and insights in the book that are part of her experience as a Black woman in the U.S. She also shared stories of the many people she has worked with throughout her career.
One of the book’s central themes, which I was eager to unpack with Hodges, is the distinction between ally and accomplice. I was interested in how she defines accomplice in the context of racial equity work and why the shift is critical. She explained, “An ally can—and often does—opt in and out. It’s conditional. It’s comfortable. It’s often about optics.”
On the other hand, according to Hodges, “An accomplice takes risks. An accomplice puts skin in the game. They leverage their privilege to dismantle the very systems that benefit them, even when it costs them something: status, relationships, professional opportunities.” She believes this shift is essential because “racism isn’t polite. It isn’t passive.” Hodges thinks that dismantling racism requires more than “hashtags and book clubs.” Instead, it requires courageous and continual action. For her, “Being an accomplice means understanding that liberation is collective—and none of us are free until all of us are.”