One way to start is to ask yourself how you’re taking action each day to make a material, visible difference for black people and people of color. “It's not okay to merely be a passive ally. I need accomplices,” Mondy told Teen Vogue. “I need white accomplices to use their privilege, and bodies (if they're able) to actively interrupt white supremacy. I need white accomplices who understand that it's not going to be comfortable. I need white accomplices dedicated to listening and supporting people of color. To me, an accomplice understands that sometimes their bodies [being present] can be the difference of a Black person experiencing police brutality.”

Taking direct action, like the person who stood between black people and police officers during a Sacramento City Council meeting following the District Attorney's decision to not charge the police officers who killed Stephon Clark, is one way to act on your values and prevent the use of excessive force.

“That's what an accomplice looks like to me. People who recognize that it's going to take a hell of a lot more than tweets to help combat oppression against marginalized communities,” says Mondy.

For Sierra, a 21-year-old queer black woman, it’s important for white people to de-center themselves, especially in how they vote in electoral politics because, “To be frank, most white allies will be fine no matter who the next president is.” However, “Minorities, especially Black women like me, are facing increasingly dangerous situations in America and should be advocated for at the polls,” she says, which is why white people should act and vote with more marginalized people in mind.

Confront fellow white people.

As the last election cycle proved, talking openly about politics with friends, family members, and peers is not easy or comfortable. But it shouldn’t have to be for us to do the right thing. “Please talk to your family and friends about politics, even if it's uncomfortable. Please use your privilege as a white person to protect people of color,” says Jude, a non-binary Latinx creator.

Wandy Felicita, a 24-year-old Latina who works in news, says that one of the best ways white people can use their privilege by actively advocating for black people and people of color at all times. “If you see or know that your classmate or co-worker is being treated unfairly, being paid less, being given more to do without compensation or recognition, speak up for them,” she told Teen Vogue. “This includes when you see your peers of color being given ‘busywork’ that neglects, negates or detracts from the good work they do while others who are less experienced are receiving accolades due to their whiteness.”

One way to actively care about what happens to our peers of color is to practice consistent awareness of when we have the power and responsibility to make a change. Wandy Felicita says that when she was in college, the president of a club she was in was a white woman who was always conscious of who was receiving leadership opportunities and roles. Because of this, “she actively advocated for people of color to be well-represented, sought out and accounted for representation in the activities that we did, and directed our group to provide volunteer service to marginalized communities.” Speaking up and using time and resources to uplift others who need it more than you do is one of the best ways to be an ally.

Speak up, but know when to be quiet.

It’s always necessary to do your own research instead of expecting black people and people of color to explain everything to you, which is incredibly emotionally and mentally laborious on top of the oppression they already experience — in fact, that’s the whole point of why white people have a responsibility to stand up against racism. But while it’s important to use whatever privilege you have to do that research and share information, sometimes the best thing you can do is know when to step back and be quiet.