Unengaged to Ally, Advocate to “Sister,” Part One
Welcome to Part One of our flagship learning experience. Deepen your solidarity practice across six lessons: understand how bias and privilege shape equity and fairness, recognize the signs of monoculture that hold us back, and move past comfort, niceness, exoticism, and the other baked-in cultural postures that create distance and disunity.
Allyship isn’t a label you claim for yourself.
Part One of our course lays out the continuum, where you are now, where you want to be, and maps how to start getting there.
Foundation.
Before you can progress, you have to know where you’re at. Not where you’d like to be, not where your politics say you are, but the actual spot. In our zeal to be the best advocate we can for solidarity and unity, many of us skip that step, which is why so much good intention goes nowhere. And by the way, why so much trust is lost along the way.
In this course, we start by exploring the continuum: from Unengaged to Ally, then Advocate to Co-Conspirator, and finally from Friend to “Sister”—a designation that is rare, earned, and not applicable to all contexts (but isn’t it better to know and be honest than to force fake relationships that end up disintegrating? We think so!) The thing about this continuum is it isn’t a ladder you just climb once, you might find yourself at different rungs depending on the situation, the risk, and who’s with you. The foundation in this course helps give you awareness and honesty in anchoring your solidarity and unity work.
Then we provide the context, the emotional awareness, and the history many of us—including me—were never taught. We look at how bias forms in the brain and hardens into policies and “norms” that perpetuate harm. We see how much of what we accepted as “normal” is really a systemic marker, and we do it without shame or blame, because the goal isn’t a short-term beat-down but long-term solidarity. We ask what “defaults” like “normal” and “professional” are really hiding, how “niceness” becomes a trap, and how admiration slides into appropriation when you aren’t paying attention. Through video, reading, and a lot of journaling, you’ll anchor in a foundational practice that has nothing to do with DEI—which is just as well, since we live in a post-DEI era, and this work matters more than ever.
Welcome to the foundational practice.
The foundation: language, history, and your actual position on the ladder.
Six modules that replace vague good intentions with a vocabulary, a map, and a starting position.
Part One is not a survey of racism. I am going to bet you have already done a fair amount of that. What we offer here is a structured look at the specific things that keep well-meaning women stuck: not knowing the words, not connecting the dots of history, not knowing where they themselves sit and what privileges they have not considered and how that can create friction, and possibly most important of all: not knowing what to do with the feelings and emotions that arise in doing this work.
Every lesson pairs teaching with journaling prompts, quizzes, reflection exercises, and a “Flip It and Reverse It” section that turns the lens onto the “flip side” in ways most courses won’t.
Across the six modules, here is what you will actually do:
- Place yourself honestly on the allyship continuum—Unengaged, Ally, Advocate, Co-Conspirator, Friend, Sister—and name where you are today, not where you’d like to be.
- Map your own motivation: which emotions are actually driving you, and what “diversity fatigue” is really telling you when it shows up.
- Move past shame and blame, so guilt stops being the thing that ends the conversation.
- Follow bias from the brain to the body: how it forms, and how it lands on quality of life—and on life itself (lived experience, policies, and how harm compounds to create systems of inequity).
- Position your own privilege, and see how bias, law, and daily life intersect to produce what we call the ubiquity of inequity.
- Interrogate monoculture: catch the places where “normal,” “professional,” and “default” are doing quiet work, in your workplace and in your own head.
- Tell the difference between nice and kind, and practice honesty that isn’t cringe—including what to do after an “oops.”
- Take apart appropriation and fetishization, so admiration stops sliding into objectification.
- Do the Flip It and Reverse It work—colorism, entitlement, post-traumatic slave syndrome—topics most curricula leave out.
WHITE IDENTIFYING WOMEN
HOW CAN YOU BECOME A REAL ALLY IN A POST-DEI WORLD?
Feeling the rift—and ready to do something about it?
Maybe the distance between you and the Black women or other women of color in your life has been growing. Maybe you want to be part of healing and solidarity but don’t know where to begin.
Our times are fractured: democracy is teetering, DEI has been wiped off the slate, history is being erased, laws are being re-written. Many Black women are done with performative allyship—words aren’t enough anymore. And some are feeling a pull to disengage from white people altogether.
But in today’s world, our success and thriving relies on mutuality, collaboration, solidarity, unity, and trust—all the goals of Brave Sis Project and the Solidarity Lab. Authentic and lasting change starts with honest acknowledgment: privilege, power, and white norms shape our systems, and silence sustains them. That’s what Part One of our signature course, “Unengaged to Ally, Advocate to ‘Sister’” is all about.
If you’re ready to learn, reflect, and lead with sincerity, this is your invitation. Your courage to engage can shift and expand power, and help construct the world and communities we wish for.
WOMEN "OF COLOR"
HOW DO YOU NAVIGATE MIXED-SPACES TODAY?
Sick of the separation but no longer willing to do all the labor?
To My Black Sisters:
You’ve (we’ve) held so much for so long—being the explainer, the forgiver, the bridge. It’s exhausting. You deserve peace, protection, and partnership rooted in truth, not labor.
This curriculum offers a reset. Frameworks and practices to help you stay grounded, show up strong, and lead without carrying the whole load. Because when we detach completely, the divisions win—and so do the systems designed to keep us apart.
To Non-Black Women of Color:
Our journeys overlap—in courage, struggle, and brilliance. But we’ve also faced our own divides: colorism, classism, xenophobia. The path forward is mutual celebration and shared purpose. Some of the unlearning means revisiting our own homes and communities: interrogating narratives our families absorbed in the long chase for proximity to whiteness, and naming anti-Blackness where it sits among us. We do this work out of love for our people, not anger, and because we are committed to a more just world where solidarity and unity prevail.
Let’s build a new way forward, together. Are you ready?
Welcome to
"Unengaged to Ally, Advocate to "Sister" Part One
A six-module self-paced course for women building authentic solidarity and trust across race, in our “post-DEI” era.
Created by Nautilus Award-winning author Rozella Kennedy, and based on the SAIN et SAUF™ Method, trusted by thousands of readers and learners across more than a dozen countries.
This course is for women from white or white-adjacent backgrounds who want to build genuine trust and collaborate across difference, as well as for Women of Color looking for tools and clarity to navigate and lead conversations with aspiring allies.
It is entirely self-paced, with video lessons, reflection prompts, and downloadable resources you can revisit anytime.
This is a space for honest reflection and brave learning, designed as a direct response to the times we live in.
In an era of deep polarization, resurgent white nationalism, “diversity fatigue,” and chosen re-segregation, many of us are seeking a place to pause, reflect, and build something better. This era has pushed many of us into discomfort, despair, even paralysis. But it has also created a new and urgent call: to step forward with clarity, integrity, and a real commitment to solidarity and change.
The curriculum is offered in two parts, with six modules each, offering opportunities for self-reflection, new vocabulary, honest dialogue, deep exploration, fun, and practical strategies for meaningful change.
Together, we’ll challenge the fears and misunderstandings that hold us back, discover the motivations that move us forward, learn key concepts and tactics that break down barriers and bias, and develop tools for starting authentic, transformative conversations—so we can build stronger solidarity and connection for collective action.
Whether you’re new to this work or have been on this path for a while, you’ll find clarity, support, and challenge here. Each section offers journaling prompts, reflective exercises, community discussion topics, invitations to deeper dives, and actionable strategies so you can build deeper trust, skill, and accountability—whether for your own growth, or to become a more effective guide for others.
Price
$249
Course Content
6 modules
Learning Format
Self-paced
Access
Lifetime access
“This coursework has come along at the perfect time. What I appreciate most is your nonjudgmental approach. You have presented your lived and professional experience as a gift which I am happy to receive.”
— Anne, course enrollee
FAQ
1. How long does the full curriculum take to deliver?
Course One (6 lessons) typically runs 8-12 weeks; Course Two adds another 6-8 weeks. This can be adapted for intensive retreats or ongoing monthly sessions.
2. Is this only for white participants?
No—this curriculum serves everyone across racial, cultural, and gender identities.
3. What if we've already done DEI training?
This goes deeper. Most participants find this work fundamentally different from traditional diversity training—it’s about personal transformation and authentic relationship-building, not compliance.
4. Can I facilitate this learning with a group?
We do have students who self-organize among themselves to meet in cohorts that they schedule. They use this time to process and support each other more deeply around the topics raised in the curriculum. We provide a facilitators’ guide to ground the conversations as wanted (free to the group leader). Group leaders must meet with us prior to starting a curriculum to go over a few ground rules and expectations, mostly around staying faithful to the curriculum. Each cohort member must be fully and individually enrolled in the course.
5. Do I need to take Brave Awareness first?
No. Brave Awareness is the entry point and many people start there, but Part One stands on its own. If you have taken Brave Awareness, you’ll find Part One goes considerably deeper into history, structure, and vocabulary—and your $75 completion credit applies here.
6. What’s the difference between being an ally and practicing solidarity?
Allyship cannot be claimed. It can only be conferred, by the people you show up for, not by the identity you adopt. It is a verdict others reach about you, based on what you do over time, under pressure, when it costs something. Solidarity is the practice that makes that verdict possible: shared risk, shared credit, shared accountability. The question is never “am I an ally?” The question is: what did I do, and how did my actions help or hinder?
7. I’m a woman of color. Is this going to ask me to educate everyone else?
No. This is not a space where women of color are expected to perform their pain, explain their existence, or carry the emotional labor of other people’s learning. The teaching comes from the tradition and from the Foremothers, not from you personally. You are here to deepen your own practice and reclaim a legacy that belongs to you. What you bring is yours to share on your own terms, or not at all.
8. What if I cause harm while trying to help?
You probably will at some point, and that’s part of being human. It is not a reason to stay on the sidelines; it is a reason to build relationships sturdy enough to withstand repair. The goal is not perfect performance. It is accountable practice: showing up consistently, naming harm when you cause it, and not requiring others to manage your feelings about your own mistakes. The Foremothers made mistakes. They kept working.
Curriculum One Course Content
Course Content
About Your Course Creator
Rozella Kennedy is an award-winning author and the founder of Brave Sis Project. Her Nautilus Award-winning book, Our Brave Foremothers: Celebrating 100 Black, Brown, Asian, and Indigenous Women Who Changed the Course of History, published by Workman/Hachette, has reached readers across six continents and supported foundations, nonprofits, and justice-focused groups worldwide. She writes long-form essays and mini-coaching at rozellakennedy.substack.com
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