ABSTRACT
The epistemic dilemma of allyship refers to a theoretically irreducible ambivalence between two complexes of motivation: (1) the desire of allies to fulfill the norm of deference, in which they admit the unreliability of their own subjectivities and follow the interpretations and recommendations of Black leaders, and (2) the desire to have a personally authentic and epistemically grounded position from which to undertake independent thought and action. This chapter explores two linked versions of the dilemma: crises of knowledge, in which allies are conscious of the absence of their own understanding and their alienation from external sources of guidance; and crises of action, in which the heterogeneity of Black perspectives makes the politics of deference practically impossible.
