Although there has been a strong movement this year to support Bla(c)k lives across Australia, there is much more work to do and we must keep up the momentum.
Saeed Khan / Getty Images
It’s not enough to be empathetic, post black squares on Instagram (#BlackOutTuesday) or hire one Bla(c)k model. Advocacy needs to be matched with ongoing and meaningful action.
Con Chronis / Getty Images
These five actions are small, yet powerful ways you can continue supporting the Black Lives Matter movement in Australia.
Your voice, allyship and energy can be powerful. Where you can, attend Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-organised rallies and protests and encourage people to join you.
Sign and share petitions and write to your local MP to demand government action. Use your platforms to educate your circles. For future elections and if you are enrolled to vote, do your research properly on the values and priorities of political parties and their members. Did you know there was a recent announcement of a $624 million budget for increased police in Queensland? This comes after the death of Aboriginal woman Aunty Sherry in police custody in Brisbane in recent months.
And get comfortable being uncomfortable! Everyone has a responsibility to continuously educate themselves — we are never finished learning. Continue reading, watching and listening to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives and voices. And then amplify those voices.
Challenge the narratives and discourse around Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Challenge your own bias and stereotypes and that of those around you. Put in work to recognise structural and institutionalised racism.
Consider your privilege and your role in the ongoing oppression of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Path To Equality has some informative resources and is a great place to start.
Hold people accountable and remember that how you spend your money is political. Challenge your favourite brands to showcase, pay and hire Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Challenge your school to teach the truth about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories — without the whitewash. Challenge your employer to hire Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (not just in junior positions), to develop and provide ongoing support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff and to increase the cultural competence and cultural safety across the organisation.
Put your money where your mouth is and help distribute wealth. If you are in a position to do so, support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses by buying their products. Trading Blak is a valuable source of information about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses.
5.
Remember that doing nothing is an action, too.
Darrian Traynor / Getty Images
It is often said that the opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference. Silence is an action and neutrality is complacency. This type of complacency continues to support the oppression, dispossession and over-policing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It's not enough to be not racist — we must be anti-racist and we are running out of time.
Almost 450 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have died in police custody in just 30 years. That's 450 lives stolen, with 450 parents, families and communities forever impacted. How can you use your privilege to help create a safe and thriving future for everyone? No one is free, until we are all free.
"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor."
We, and our partners, use technologies to process personal information, including IP addresses, pseudonymous identifiers associated with cookies, and in some cases mobile ad IDs. This information is processed to personalize content based on your interests, run and optimize marketing campaigns, measure the performance of ads and content, and derive insights about the audiences who engage with ads and content. This data is an integral part of how we operate our site, make revenue to support our staff, and generate relevant content for our audience. You can learn more about our data collection and use practices in our Privacy Policy.
If you wish to request that your personal information is not shared with third parties, please click on the below opt out button. Please note that after your opt out request is processed, we may still collect your information in order to operate our site.
We value your privacy
We and our partners use technology such as cookies on our site to personalize content and ads, provide social media features, and analyze our traffic. Click below to consent to the use of this technology across the web. You can change your mind and change your consent choices at anytime by returning to this site.
BuzzFeed
Information storage and access
The storage of information, or access to information that is already stored, on your device such as advertising identifiers, device identifiers, cookies, and similar technologies.
Personalisation
The collection and processing of information about your use of this service to subsequently personalise advertising and/or content for you in other contexts, such as on other websites or apps, over time. Typically, the content of the site or app is used to make inferences about your interests, which inform future selection of advertising and/or content.
Ad selection, delivery, reporting
The collection of information, and combination with previously collected information, to select and deliver advertisements for you, and to measure the delivery and effectiveness of such advertisements. This includes using previously collected information about your interests to select ads, processing data about what advertisements were shown, how often they were shown, when and where they were shown, and whether you took any action related to the advertisement, including for example clicking an ad or making a purchase. This does not include personalisation, which is the collection and processing of information about your use of this service to subsequently personalise advertising and/or content for you in other contexts, such as websites or apps, over time.
Content selection, delivery, reporting
The collection of information, and combination with previously collected information, to select and deliver content for you, and to measure the delivery and effectiveness of such content. This includes using previously collected information about your interests to select content, processing data about what content was shown, how often or how long it was shown, when and where it was shown, and whether the you took any action related to the content, including for example clicking on content. This does not include personalisation, which is the collection and processing of information about your use of this service to subsequently personalise content and/or advertising for you in other contexts, such as websites or apps, over time.
Third-party vendors
Information storage and access
The storage of information, or access to information that is already stored, on your device such as advertising identifiers, device identifiers, cookies, and similar technologies.
View CompaniesHide Companies
Company
Lotame Solutions, Inc.
OpenX Software Ltd. and its affiliates
The Rubicon Project, Limited
Index Exchange, Inc.
comScore, Inc.
DoubleVerify Inc.
LiveRamp, Inc.
Taboola Europe Limited
PubMatic, Inc.
Outbrain UK Ltd
EMX Digital LLC
Nielsen Marketing Cloud
Google (DFP / AdX)
Personalisation
The collection and processing of information about your use of this service to subsequently personalise advertising and/or content for you in other contexts, such as on other websites or apps, over time. Typically, the content of the site or app is used to make inferences about your interests, which inform future selection of advertising and/or content.
View CompaniesHide Companies
Company
Lotame Solutions, Inc.
OpenX Software Ltd. and its affiliates
LiveRamp, Inc.
Outbrain UK Ltd
EMX Digital LLC
Nielsen Marketing Cloud
Google (DFP / AdX)
Ad selection, delivery, reporting
The collection of information, and combination with previously collected information, to select and deliver advertisements for you, and to measure the delivery and effectiveness of such advertisements. This includes using previously collected information about your interests to select ads, processing data about what advertisements were shown, how often they were shown, when and where they were shown, and whether you took any action related to the advertisement, including for example clicking an ad or making a purchase. This does not include personalisation, which is the collection and processing of information about your use of this service to subsequently personalise advertising and/or content for you in other contexts, such as websites or apps, over time.
View CompaniesHide Companies
Company
Lotame Solutions, Inc.
OpenX Software Ltd. and its affiliates
LiveRamp, Inc.
Outbrain UK Ltd
Google (DFP / AdX)
Content selection, delivery, reporting
The collection of information, and combination with previously collected information, to select and deliver content for you, and to measure the delivery and effectiveness of such content. This includes using previously collected information about your interests to select content, processing data about what content was shown, how often or how long it was shown, when and where it was shown, and whether the you took any action related to the content, including for example clicking on content. This does not include personalisation, which is the collection and processing of information about your use of this service to subsequently personalise content and/or advertising for you in other contexts, such as websites or apps, over time.
View CompaniesHide Companies
Company
Lotame Solutions, Inc.
LiveRamp, Inc.
Google (DFP / AdX)
Measurement
The collection of information about your use of the content, and combination with previously collected information, used to measure, understand, and report on your usage of the service. This does not include personalisation, the collection of information about your use of this service to subsequently personalise content and/or advertising for you in other contexts, i.e. on other service, such as websites or apps, over time.
{{ blurb }}
{{/blurb}} {{#picture_url}}