ALLY PLEDGE

I will believe you without question.

I will respect the way you name yourself. You're the expert on you.
I will not judge you or the choices you've had to make.
I will respect your privacy and your right to make your own decisions about who you tell or don't and
how and when.
I will not give advice you have not asked for.
I will not claim to understand things that I have not been through.
I will not make it about me.
I will educate myself. You don't have to educate me.
I will do everything I can to protect you.
I will speak up against injustices against you.
I will not reduce you to your identity and/or orientation.
I will not dismiss them as an insignificant part of who you are.
I will understand that you are still you and always have been.
I will respect your need for BGLTQ spaces and communities where I feel like an outsider.
I will understand that identities and orientations can be fluid and not hold you to the words you claim
for yourself today, but I will take them seriously.
I will take risks with you. I will try to be brave with you.
I will be your cheerleader when you're brave.
I will understand that coming out isn't a one time event and that you have to keep doing it over and
over again to different people, and sometimes to the same people. I will support you every time.
I will not tire of the subject or get impatient if you often assert your identity and experience because I
know you have to.
I will be persistent and vocal as an ally so you don't have to always be the one to speak up.
Sometimes you just need a rest.
I will understand that sometimes you may be fierce, sometimes sad, sometimes proud, and
sometimes scared. It's all good.
I will follow your lead.
I will listen to you when I mess up and you tell me so.
I will stay in relationship with you.