Emily Perper is word-writing human for hire. She blogs about her favorite longreads at Diet Coker.

In light of the recent Zimmerman trials, I’d like to share these four pieces. I’ve thought a lot about this blog post by Mary, who writes, “Another thing I’ve noticed is that people are more concerned with being the best ally than they are with the concerns/oppression of the marginalized group(s) that they’re allying with. When the focus becomes about you and your feelings instead of the people facing discrimination, you’re being a really shitty ally.”

Here are four pieces for you to ponder:

The first is Questlove’s response to the George Zimmerman verdict…

The second is a response to Questlove’s piece by Kim Foster, a white woman and mother living in Harlem.

The third is “Ally-phobia: The Worst of Best Intentions.”

And the fourth is “Why the Foster Article Exposes Our Racism.”

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Photo: Brennan Schnell