Meet Aly Bates | Activist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Aly Bates and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aly, what is the most important factor behind your success?
One of the most important factors has been self care and remembering why I’m doing this work. So far I’m about 4 years in and with that it’s given me a lot of time to learn plenty of lessons and learn what works for me and what doesn’t. While with anything in life consistency equals success but it’s so much more than that. Within the work of activism taking time to take care of yourself to avoid burn out is very important. This work requires so much physical and emotional labor that rest is necessary along with remembering why you’re doing this. It’s so easy to be caught up in the wrong things but remembering the reason I started this work really helps keep me grounded and had definitely attributed to my success.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
When I first got into activism right off the bat I faced lots of challenges. I was just 19 years old walking in a role that was completely unlike anything I had ever been apart of in my life. I knew nothing about life let alone what my life would look like as an activist. I experienced alot of hardships from my age to my gender. It took a lot, and still takes a lot to be taken seriously. A big lesson I learned in this work is the importance of advocating for myself the way I advocate for others and while that seems like something that should come easy being someone that’s publicly outspoken but it’s always been something I’ve struggled with. Black women are often seen as aggressive and overdramatic when it comes to speaking on our emotions. I’ve been in so many situations in my life that I look back and think to myself how I wish I would’ve spoken up and said something. It’s almost like I’ve been so used to having these bottled up feelings and having no one listening to me that it took me years to realize that what I have to say matters and that people are listening now. I never want to be known as the woman that kept quiet about anything and learning to advocate for myself isn’t just doing so but it’s also advocating for my work, my ideas.

I think a big thing that sets me apart from others is simply the test of time and my ability to shift the basis of my work based off what my life is looking like. When I started my activism journey a lot of my work was rooted in direct action such as protests, rally’s, attending meetings and speaking at events. And while at the time doing my work that way was very effective, it was also very risky to my safety both physically and mentally and back then I was younger and able to take risks like that. However now I’m no longer able to, or comfortable taking those risks. My life looks a lot different now than when I began this work. I’m now a Mother and currently on probation for a felony charge from protesting for Patrick Lyoya. I always had a passion for content creating even before getting into activism so with my current work I channel both my passion for that and activism and it’s been a great way to get my voice out there and continue to use my platform to bring attention to important issues.

I want the world to know that I’m here for the long haul. Change has never been a thing that comes overnight and while I’ve had a lot of hardships come my way, I’m still here and still fighting for the liberation of not just my people but all oppressed peoples.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to dedicate my shoutout to all of the grassroots organizers and activists, especially those from Grand Rapids that I have the honor of sharing community with. Each and everyone of them have played a role in teaching me very valuable and important life lessons both good and bad. The work we do often goes unnoticed and unappreciated but regardless of such, the work continues and without alot of them I wouldn’t have had the fuel to keep going after all of these years. Through so much grief and loss we remain strong even under the toughest circumstances and I am forever grateful for their presence in my life.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Alytheeactivist

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Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@alytheeactivist

Image Credits
Image 1: Daunte Cope
Image 3-5: John Rothwel