You may have been told that allyship is about politics.
What if it’s actually about… becoming more of yourself?
Think about a toddler.
When a toddler sees someone fall down, their instinct isn't to look away. It isn't to laugh. It's to gasp — "oh no!" — and reach out to help.
That's who we are at our core. We are born wanting to see our fellow humans do well.
But then we grow up. And somewhere along the way, that natural empathy gets programmed out of us. We learn to hesitate. We learn "I don't know enough" and "I don't have enough" and "it's not my place."
Allyship isn't about becoming a better person. It's about returning to who you already were.
It's about unlearning the programming that taught you to look away — and coming home to yourself.
“How To Be an Ally 101” is not enough anymore.
You've seen the basics. Educate yourself. Acknowledge your privilege. Use your voice. Don't be performative.
That's fine. But let's be honest — you can read all of that in a few Instagram carousels.
This class is NOT that.
We're not here to give you a checklist so you can feel like a good person. We're here because fascism is becoming the new normal, the world is on fire, and "getting by" isn't cutting it anymore.
So, here's what we wish more people understood about allyship:
(1) The first step is NOT actually “speaking up” or “taking action.”
Inner work comes first. Always.
Before you post, before you march, before you call someone out at Thanksgiving dinner — tend to your own fears, anxieties, and unhealed stuff.
Most of the harm done by well-meaning people happens when they bring their unprocessed shame, guilt, and savior complexes to the very people they're trying to help.
We don't need your emotional labor dumped on us. We've already got enough.
(2) It’s NOT about getting it right.
One of the most common questions we hear: "How do I avoid making mistakes?"
Here's the truth: You will mess up. Again and again.
Think about it — you cannot know everything about a culture or experience you don't belong to. How arrogant would it be to think you could?
So instead of chasing perfection, we practice cultural humility — a mindset of curiosity, learning, and staying open to correction. When you get called out, you don't shut down. You say "I'm sorry," you go do your homework, and you come back better.
That's the work, and prioritizing the work over protecting your ego is how we practice true allyship.
(3) Being a “good ally” isn’t the goal.
If your motivation is to be seen as a good person, your allyship will fail. Every time.
It will fail because real allyship makes people uncomfortable. It requires you to bring up hard things, call out harmful behavior, and sit with people's anger — including anger directed at you.
Not everyone is going to thank you. In fact, some people are going to be pissed. So if you need applause to keep going, you won't last.
The real goal is liberation. Yours, ours, theirs. Together.
Because when you free yourself from the programming that taught you to look away, to protect your comfort, to stay silent — YOU get free, too.
And that’s the whole point.
More than theory. More than performativity. Welcome to the advanced work of allyship.
This is a two-part class taught by us — Rashida Bonds and Simone Seol. We are two teachers who have spent decades doing this work in the real world, not just talking about it online.
It's for anyone who feels the urgent call to lift up people on the margins — through their daily life, their relationships, their business. Don't let the word "advanced" scare you. This class is beginner-friendly. We need as many good people in the fight as possible.
But be prepared: we're going to ask you to dig deep, feel bravely, and think hard.
Here’s what we cover:
The Trojan Horse Framework — You have advantages you didn't earn. Maybe it’s your race, your gender, your accent, your passport, your sexual orientation. You can feel guilty about that, or you can learn to use it to help people. We'll teach you how to end "privilege shame" for good — by turning those advantages into your secret weapons for liberation.
Beyond “Educating Yourself” — You’ve been told “educate yourself,” and of course, that matters. But also, chasing the feeling of “knowing enough” is a trap — it leads to paralysis, defensiveness, or worse, the assumption that you already know everything there is to know. There's a different mindset that actually works, and we’ll teach it to you.
The Saviorism Check — People can feel when you’re trying to “help,” but from a place of seeing them as a charity case, and subtly condescending to them. We'll show you how to check yourself.
The “Called Out” Protocol — You will get called out, and probably more than once. And how you respond in that moment is what’s going to determine whether people trust you, or write you off for good. Most people get this wrong. We'll give you the exact moves to make so that being called out doesn’t derail your allyship, but strengthens it.
Sustainable Risk-Taking — Real talk: allyship can cost you. It can cost you your relationships, money, popularity, and comfortable patterns. So you need to know your limits — or you'll burn out, check out, or end up resenting the people you meant to help. But once you find your edge, there's a fine line between honoring it and hiding behind it. So, where's that edge? That's where the growth is. We'll help you find the line between making allyship sustainable… and playing it too safe.
The Inner Work — Most people think allyship starts with speaking up or taking action, but it doesn't. It starts with you — your fears, your shame, your unhealed stuff. Because if you haven't tended to that, you'll bring it straight to the people you're trying to help. And trust us — they don't need your baggage on top of their own. We'll show you how to do your own work first — so you can actually be useful.
We'll also get into:
When to stay quiet vs. when to use your voice: Sometimes speaking up is exactly what's needed. Sometimes it's the last thing anyone wants from you. Knowing the difference is a skill — and getting it wrong can do real harm. We'll give you a framework for reading the room and knowing when it's your turn.
When to keep fighting vs. when to rest: You cannot be in the fight 24/7. But how do you know when you're taking a legitimate break… and when you're just checking out because it got hard? We'll help you tell the difference — and build a rhythm that lets you stay in this for the long haul.
How to not be a safe space for bigotry (while remaining graceful): You don't have to start a screaming match at Thanksgiving. But you also don't have to let harmful words float by unchallenged just to keep the peace. There's a way to make bigotry uncomfortable in your presence without burning every relationship to the ground. We'll show you how.
How to handle it when two marginalized groups seem to be in conflict — This one's messy. Sometimes the people you want to support seem to be at odds with each other — and you don't know which "side" to take. The answer isn't to pick a team. But it's not to stay silent either. We'll talk about how to stay grounded in your values when the situation feels impossible.
How to create spaces that center marginalized people without alienating everyone else — If you run a business, a community, or even just a dinner party, you have choices about who gets centered and who doesn't. But how do you do that in a way that's clear and boundaried — without making it feel hostile or exclusive? We'll share what's worked for us.
The price of this training goes from $45→ $250 on Monday, February 16th at 11:59pm ET
**I don’t do flash sales or limited-time discounts. I generally don’t fuck around with pricing. We've charged $45 for this since day one. This is a one-time, permanent price increase — and if you've been in my world for a while, you know that's real.
Who this is for
This class is for you if:
You care. You actually give a shit about other people — not because you want someone to give you cookies, but because something in you can't stand watching people get hurt and doing nothing about it.
You're tired of surface-level advice. You've read the Instagram posts, maybe even a book or two. But you still feel like you're fumbling in the dark, unsure if you're helping or accidentally making things worse.
You want to do something — but you don't know where to start. The world's problems feel so massive. You freeze, or you spin out, or you do a little bit of everything and burn out.
You've messed up before. Maybe you said the wrong thing and got called out. You’re scared of messing up again, but want to get back in… and you need a way to do this with your dignity intact.
You want your business could be a vehicle for good. But you want a guide for exactly how to do that without being perceived as performative, preachy, or alienating half your audience.
Fair warning: this class will ask you to be uncomfortable, to look at yourself honestly, and to stay in the work even when it's hard. If you're just looking to feel like a good person, this isn't for you.
Who we are
RASHIDA BONDS
Rashida has been doing this work for over 25 years — long before anyone was using the word "allyship."
She spent two decades as a top educator for Indiana's largest HIV/AIDS service organization, reaching churches, prisons, and inner-city neighborhoods. She became known as "the straight lady who can talk to straight people" — using her identity as a heterosexual, cisgender, Christian woman to open doors for LGBTQ+ folks who couldn't get in the room.
She later worked with Indiana Youth Group, supporting LGBTQ+ young people and training their parents — helping reduce queer youth suicide by teaching families how to actually show up for their kids.
Now she coaches and trains entrepreneurs, organizations, and corporations who want to strengthen their allyship for the people they serve. She's not interested in nice-sounding theory, but what works in real life — and that’s exactly what she teaches.
SIMONE SEOL
Simone Grace Seol comes from a lineage of Korean Buddhist teachers and healers who taught that compassion is the highest principle, and that it must be backed up by action.
Before starting her coaching career, she studied liberation theology and health policy, and won hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant funding for community health programs ,working with nonprofits.
She then built a coaching business to 8-figures, and consistently used her platform to redistribute attention, power, and money.
In the past five years, she has given and raised well over a million dollars to mutual aid, humanitarian and ecological projects, reaching everywhere from Gaza to Maui.
She is the author of the book “Don’t Do Your Best: A Guide to the Project of Aliveness” and former host of a top-20 podcast, Joyful Marketing.
Praise for Practical Allyship
Class Details
Practical Allyship for Life and Business is co-taught by Rashida Bonds and Simone Seol.
The class includes a 2-hour teaching session and a 1-hour Q&A — plus homework designed to make you think harder than you maybe want to.
When you purchase, you'll get instant access to:
Video and audio recordings of both sessions
Full transcript of the class
Class outline with timestamps
Homework reflection questions
Sustainable Allyship 101 — a foundational ebook by Rashida covering the 5 pillars of sustainable allyship
Everything is yours to keep forever.
Price: $45
On February 17, the price goes up to $250 permanently. This is the last chance to enroll at the legacy price of $45.
Get ready for clarity and pragmatic tools you can put to use right away.
In your day-to-day conversations, activism, copywriting and business strategy.
You will leave with exactly these skills and tools, whether you’re a newbie entrepreneur, seasoned activist, or anything in between.
This is everything you need to begin fighting — and stay in the fight without getting burnt out.
See you in class.
The price of this training goes from $45 → $250 on Monday, February 16th at 11:59pm ET.
**If you’ve been in my world for a while, you know: I don’t do flash sales or limited-time discounts. I generally don’t fuck around with pricing. I’ve charged the same price for this course since day one, and I’m making a necessary, one-time correction.