June is Pride month, and given its importance to the gay community, it’s an ideal time to reflect on what the word “ally” means with regards to Underrepresented Groups (URGs). I am a straight white man who was born with massive intersectional privilege. This allows me to go through life without experiencing the discrimination or oppression, based on who I am or who I love, that may URGs endure. This fact is precisely why I speak out. It doesn’t take the experience to be empathetic; it takes thought and care for everyone. My love for everyone is what brings me to the table as an ally. So that’s how I’ve come to be an ally, but the title of this post is “Ally is Not a Noun, it’s a Verb”, so what do I mean by that? To my mind, allyship without action is not allyship at all.