Ms Key grew up in a very conservative household and it wasn’t until a dramatic change of life in her late thirties that she realised just how sheltered she was. By being open-minded and determined to engage in robust, safe discussions with a diverse range of people, she is slowly educating herself on the complex nuances of modern life. This column is a safe place for people to ask those questions that they may not feel comfortable to otherwise discuss. There are no silly questions and nothing is taboo here.
Dear Ms Key,
I’m so grateful that we can ask you about these often difficult and taboo topics. Like you, I feel I have so much to learn, but I often feel like I’m seen as ignorant or naive (or worse, a bigot) when I ask people with actual experience about ‘being different’. In terms of race especially, these days I feel that the discussion is more complicated than my ‘I don’t see colour’ attitude. I’ve heard a lot about ‘systemic racism’ and how just treating people equally isn’t enough. Apparently we need to understand the impact of how past and present racist systems have been stacked in white-people’s favour. I really do want to be part of ‘the solution’ but I can’t help but feel sometimes that it’s not my problem; I’m not racist and I resent being seen as contributing to it because of my race (isn’t that ‘reverse-racism’?), and because it happened in the past I can’t change it anyway. Also, the more I learn about systemic racism in Australia and around the world I can’t help but feel a little defensive.
I really am anti-racist but often its all just too hard. What can I do?
Kind regards,
Ellie Gampton*
Williamstown
Hi Ellie!
What a wonderful subject to cover and I remember when I first moved to Melbourne and I was working for a Government Department and in meetings, the Chair would say an ‘Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners’. I had no idea what was happening or why it was being said! Was I supposed to say Amen? Aren’t we in Melbourne City? Why are you talking about Wurundjeri and Kulin? Am I lost?! As I grew in my role however, I reached out to a colleague to explain and boy, was my world turned upside down…
My colleague went so far as to take me to the Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre in Carlton (which I would HIGHLY recommend) and the more I learned, the more I cried, the more my heart broke and the more my views changed on MANY things, not just my perception of Indigenous Australians.
To try and answer a few of your specific questions, let me begin with not ‘seeing colour’. For many people, their skin colour matters very much because they experience racism on a daily basis. Also, racism is not limited to the colour of people’s skin and experiences of trauma are not the same for all populations. So when we say ‘I don’t see colour,’ it’s actually saying we don’t see the racism people face. I know, it’s a bit of a slap in the face right? But believing that ignoring skin colour will solve the problem fails to consider the very real experiences of racism that occur in daily life. There’s a Canadian lady called Melanie Hobson who does fantastic TED talks about this topic and coined the term ‘Colour Brave’. We don’t want people to be colour blind, we want them to be colour brave. Brave enough to understand what people of colour face in their daily lives, to try and understand their history, to speak up for them when it’s needed and to stand WITH them. You or I may not be actively contributing to their racist experiences but they still experience them. And that is what matters.
In relation to what has happened in the past – why can’t they just get over it?! I had that exact thought once. But here’s what I’ve learned. The reason why many Indigenous people can’t simply ‘get over’ the past is because the negative effects of colonisation are still having an impact on them every day. How? Well, for one thing, the forced removal of Aboriginal children was still occurring as recently as the 70s. I was born in the 70s Ellie. So if I was removed from my family and no records were kept and I had no idea who my cultural family was – that is going to have a big impact. I didn’t know my biological father and that in itself is/was traumatising. Imagine not having any connection to your community, only hearing the horror stories of what your parents must have gone through. Urgh, my heart just aches.
I would recommend doing some research on Intergenerational Trauma. To put it simply, it’s where present and future generations feel the pain of what happened in the past. To their FAMILY. And get this: Australia is the only Commonwealth country that doesn’t have a treaty with our Indigenous population. I think I would feel that the absence of a treaty was an ongoing denial of what happened to my ancestors. Like I wasn’t worth going to the trouble of putting a treaty in place.
Ultimately, to ‘not be racist’ is not enough (I know that sounds really harsh!). We have to be ANTIRACIST. Being ‘not racist’ does not require active assistance in dismantling the system of racism. Being ‘antiracist’ does. There’s a great book by Ibram X Kendi called How to be an Antiracist. I remember nodding my head vigorously as I read it and gasping out loud. Online, he has listed 6 steps to being antiracist which break it down and is a nice soft starting point. Or, you could grab a copy and then share it with your family and friends! I don’t doubt you’ll be left feeling empowered and committed to doing what you can to eradicate systemic racism and with a better understanding of why it’s hard for them to move on.
Let me leave you with what I hope is a very confronting (and possibly inciting) thought: Donald Trump swears that he doesn’t have a racist bone in his body…
You’ve got this Ellie. xx
Got a dicey question for our Twenty-first CenturyTaboo-trasher? Just email it to: editor@thewestsider.com.au – Attention: Ms Anne R. Key
*Identifying details changed for personal privacy. The views expressed are not necessarily that of The Westsider.
