Every single Australian person who is outraged at the police (and entire societal) brutality against black people in the US that’s currently in the headlines needs to put the same amount of energy into learning about the VERY SAME brutality that’s used here in Australia to oppress Indigenous Australians.
Every single Australian, whether in Australia or overseas, born in Australia or born overseas, needs to put the onus on themselves to EDUCATE, INFORM and TALK ABOUT the institutional violence black Australians face.
White Australia has:
Warning. These links may contain the names and images of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people now deceased.
- committed genocide against black Australians "comparable to" Nazi Germany
- legally enslaved black Australians
- legally classified Indigenous Australians as animals (Flora and Fauna Act)
- committed mass genocide of Indigenous Australians over 200 years
- denied Indigenous men and women the right to vote for over half a century AFTER white women were granted the right to vote
- actively passed legislation designed to eliminate Indigenous Australians from Australia altogether
- Refused Indigenous people treatment from the Royal Flying Doctor Service in preference of less in need white people (‘Ray Martin: The Great Divide’, SBS)
- Tested nuclear weapons upon the Anangu lands of Maralinga in South Australia
- Minimised and attempted to erase the scientific achievements and discoveries of Aboriginal people (creativespirits.info > Education)
- separated Indigenous children from their families and communities nationwide (page 29) from colonisation to present
- stolen lands from Indigenous Australians from colonisation to present
- allowed a white policeman to murder an Indigenous man (name in link) from the Palm Island community in Northern Queensland in 2004 in custody, resulting in his liver being cleaved in half across his spine from physical abuse
- caused Aboriginal deaths in custody to rise sharply over the past 5 years, including causing Indigenous deaths in custody to quadruple from the 1970s to the 2010s
- minimised and attempted to erase the historical importance of Aboriginal Australians, including that Indigenous Australians may be the earliest humans on the planet
- caused an Aboriginal woman to die in mandatory rehab (name of deceased not present in link)
- caused deaths in custody that NO policeman has EVER been held guilty for
- and so much more that I could stay up all night linking to
Resources
Timeline of Aboriginal history in Australia:
Timeline of racism in Australia
CreativeSpirits.info – a site dedicated to spreading information and awareness about issues relating to Indigenous Australians (n.b. owner is white)
KooriWeb.org – created by Dr. Gary Foley (b 1950) Born in Grafton, northern NSW, of Gumbainggir descent.
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
Be outraged at Ferguson. Be outraged about Tamir Rice. Be outraged at ALL the black deaths due to police brutality and institutionalised racism in the USA.
But ALSO be OUTRAGED at the same treatment shown to Indigenous Australians here in this country.
BLACK LIVES MATTER.
racism
mtv:
this past weekend was the one year anniversary of mike brown’s death. this quote was taken from a post solange made on Instagram during the national protests that followed (pictured).
witch? –enscenic
Witch: If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?
Obliterating racism.
A few of my favorite things
Standard
- White people trying to explain the civil war to me (”You see! The North was racist too! The whole time! Aren’t you glad I revealed this secret to you? Can I fly the confederate flag now?”)
- White people trying to explain black history to me
- White people trying to explain intersectional feminism to me
- White people trying to explain womynism to me
- White people trying to explain intuitional racism to me
- White people trying to explain political issues that revolve around anti-blackness to me
- White people trying to explain that race isn’t biological (”You see! We’re all the same genetically! Racism is over. I have done it. You’re welcome.”)
Yo, wtf is this shit?! This man is trying to make a difference but y’all won’t let him, let this man do his thing cause he’s proven that he’s here for us that he wants change, if anything y’all need to interrupt Trump, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz hell even Hillary Clinton. Wtf is this going to solve by interrupting someone who constantly shows his support for us?
Edit: this is not an attack on The Black Lives Matter Movement, I still support the movement but this act was unnecessary. The only positive thing that came from this is that it showed us that white liberals aren’t as progressive as they think.
No but see here’s the thing.
BLM has been asking Sanders for a plan. Sanders has, frankly, responded poorly. He has insisted that racial inequality comes from economic inequality and that if he solves one it will solve the other.
Yes. This happened. As though there is no racism. As though there is only classism.
BLM (rightfully) didn’t accept that, and stepped their game up. Twice they have interrupted his rallies because, frankly, his plans as they stood were not going to help black people.
Lo and behold – Bernie wised up. He called an attorney and member of BLM and (importantly) black woman, Symone Sanders (no relation). And he said, “What am I doing wrong?”
In a long meeting, she told him. And at the end of that meeting, he hired her as his new press secretary. Now he has released an ACTUAL PLAN for criminal justice reform. Now he has pledged ACTUAL SUPPORT to BLM.
Saying you want to help is not the same as helping. Black people were not obligated to give Bernie a pass just because he said his plan would help them, when he would not even listen to them or accept their criticism of his platform.
Now he is listening. Now he has to follow through. And we should not be critical of the protesters who got through to him, when no one else could, and made him see the error of his ways.
THANK YOU
You’ll be surprised how many people don’t know that Gandhi was a racist.
StandardAlways be cognizant of why you’re taught what you’re taught in history. You’ll be surprised how many people don’t know that Albert Einstein was an avid supporter of Black rights.
This is why people need to stop saying #AllLivesMatter
Over the weekend, democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley responded to Black Lives Matter protestors with a familiar phrase “Black lives matter. White lives matter. All lives matter.“ His intentions were good, but horribly misguided. What makes #AllLivesMatter so problematic? One Reddit user broke it down with a perfect analogy
How White People Sound When They “Disagree” With PoC About Racism
Posted on
This morning on Twitter, Mia had a few words for white people who
“disagree” with PoC about racism. It’s funny because it’s true.(via: blackgirldangerous)