The Black Lives Matter movement continues to demand justice and accountability for violence and racism inflicted on Black communities in the United States and around the world.
Here in Australia, we too must acknowledge that Indigenous Australians are targets of systemic and institutional racism.
As reported by ABC, “there have been 400 Aboriginal deaths in custody since the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody, and no police officers have been convicted over these deaths. Key recommendations into breaking the cycle of imprisonment have not been implemented. In the decades since the report, the rate of incarceration of Indigenous Australians has doubled.”
Change starts with each one of us taking real action, every day.
We can educate ourselves on the history and impact of colonisation on Australia’s First Nations peoples.
We can examine our own prejudices and understand how non-Indigenous Australians have benefited from the systemic discrimination, dispossession and inequality of First Nations people over hundreds of years.
We can listen to the voices of Indigenous Australians and hear what they need us to do to support Indigenous communities to heal and thrive.
While Reconciliation Week 2020 has drawn to a close this week, we can ensure that our daily lives are filled with actions, whether big or small, that are informed by the five dimensions of reconciliation; historical acceptance, race relations, equality and equity, institutional integrity and unity.
For more on practical ways you can support Aboriginal Lives Matter, read this piece.
