In Case You Missed It: Australia Just Launched A Local #ShareTheMicNow Campaign And Here's What Happened

The time is long overdue to let Blak people lead the dialogue on Blak issues.

Following the success of the #ShareTheMicNow campaign that originated in the US, a range of high-profile Australians handed over their social platforms yesterday — to amplify important voices from Australia's First Nations peoples.

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The initiative first ran on June 10 in the USA and saw almost 100 stars taking part — including Kourtney Kardashian, Sophia Bush and Gwyneth Paltrow — and handing over their Instagrams to Black female activists, celebrities and entrepreneurs.

Spearheaded by Aboriginal author, Tara June Winch, and Go-To Skincare founder, Zoë Foster Blake, the Aussie edition of the campaign saw 20 people paired together to champion voices from Blak communities.

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The campaign allowed non-Indigenous women in Australia to begin "sharing that important, essential mic" with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices.

In a landscape where Blak narratives are often spoken-over by white voices, the #ShareTheMicNow initiative aimed to create space that allowed Blak voices to tell their own stories.

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Here's what they had to say.

1. Mo’Ju took over from Phoebe Tonkin

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"Black Lives Matter has become one of the largest civil rights movements in history. A movement for ALL Black and Indigenous people around the world. However, in recent discussions around BLM, it has become apparent to me that many people I have spoken to misunderstand what racism truely is and who can experience it.

We live in a society that is built upon foundations of White supremacy (the notion that Whiteness is the norm, the standard and the ideal). Racism is systemic and as such White people are in the position of power. If you can’t see this, then there is a good chance that is because you are benefitting from this system. Racism requires prejudice, but also social and institutional power. Therefore, White people can experience prejudice but they cannot experience racism.

We are taught that racism looks like violence and overt discrimination, which of course it does, but racism also manifests in many other ways, some of which are much more insidious than that.

Racism can be covert, such as in the form of racial micro-aggressions and is often unintentional. Impact however, outweighs intention. Being a good ally requires us all to look at ourselves and the ways in which we are complicit. It is our responsibility to self-interrogate and to examine and overcome our hidden biases."

You can view Mo’Ju's full takeover here.

2. Tara June Winch took over from Zoë Foster Blake

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"There's so much to tell you, but I don't know how up to speed you are, I don't know how deeply your education has failed you. Prime Minister, Scott Morrison attended Sydney Boys High School, it looks nice there, good teachers I'm sure, and yet last week he said, 'there was no slavery in Australia'.

We know that's just not true, we've written about it since the explosion of our Aboriginal literature as a response to the civil rights movement of the 1960s, we know of it in historical records written by White men, by the oral histories of those Blackbirded and their descendants, and it's still unbelievable?

We know of it in those sold to the field under the Masters and Slaves Act during the colonisation of Australia, shackled by the neck, our people, photographed like that even, and it's still unbelievable?

We know in the forced servitude and control of 'wages' throughout the 20th century, my Nana Alice included, aged 14, was sent away to work as a domestic. 14. I have a 14 year old child at home right now. A child. It's so unbelievable?"

You can view Winch's full takeover here.

3. Nayuka Gorrie took over from Chrissie Swan

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"My name is Nayuka Gorrie. I am Gunai/Kurnai, Gunditjmara, Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta. I live on Wurundjeri country with my boyfriend Witt and our twins Nanwan and Yeerung. I am a screenwriter and an essayist.

Truth be told, I feel pessimistic about the state of the world. Like any parent, you want to believe your children are inheriting a world better than the one you have but this is not the case for many of us.

Aboriginal people are more incarcerated than ever before and have our children stolen by the state at rates higher than before. We have a media and political landscape that has no regard for our humanity. Our sacred sites are getting blown up and torn down.

This is not a world I want to raise my beautiful babies in. I am pessimistic, but several times over the last few weeks I have been reminded that I am part of a community of people who are fighting to make the world better."

You can view Gorrie's full takeover here.

4. Marlee Silva took over from Madeleine Wes​t

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"Yaama, I’m Marlee Silva, a 24-year-old Gamilaroi and Dunghutti woman from NSW. Coming from this part of the country, I usually call myself a Koori or a blackfulla and nothing makes me prouder than to say that!

I’m a storyteller, the co-founder of @tiddas4tiddas — which is focused on celebrating my Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sisters and the host of the podcast @alwaysourstories.

We live in an undoubtedly scary and uncertain time. We’ve seen some of the worst and brief moments of the best in humanity in the last six months, and while it might be easy to fall into a sense of hopelessness — I believe this is the turning point we’ve needed as a species.

2020 could remain in history as the worst year ever, or it could be a shift in time, where we truly began moving towards a united, equal world — the choice is ours."

You can view Silva's full takeover here.

5. Rachael Sarra took over the Shameless Podcast

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"This is me, Rachael Sarra — a proud Goreng Goreng woman, artist, designer and activist. Why this awkward photo you might ask? Well, I was painting a mural and it was at this exact moment that my cousin captured my facial response to bypassers comment: 'Aboriginal art huh, you're not f**king Aboriginal...Look at you.'

My appearance has come to be both a blessing and a curse. It comes with it's complexities and confusion. I am continually having my identity questioned and that's when I'm not already questioning it myself, because of the bias that so openly exist in our environments.

However, it is from this perspective that I know the privileges that exist for some that definitely don't for a lot of First Nations people. And although I don't often fall under the racial profiling hat, I do see and experience the systematic and institutionalised racism everyday.

So for me, my brand was birthed out of an attempt to resist. It became a way for me to occupy and decolonize my own thinking and the spaces in which I work — with art and design."

You can view Sarra's full takeover here.

6. Shareena Clanton took over from Turia Pitt

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"My lens is always Indigenous, with one eye open to unblinkingly see the enemy. I study you, more than you think to study and observe me. I know your weak points. I know your fears, anger, rage, frustration and pain. I know that you punch off centre when trying to inflict hurt upon me, because your feet are neither grounded in the Earth or firm in its own conviction.⁣

I know you’re weak when you jeer, yell, scream and rage back at me when I stare straight into you, searching for your flinching untruths. I know you call me many names and seek to expose all my points of vulnerability, but guess what? There are none that are not already known and openly exposed. I do not allow rage to be the blinding light but rather part of the strategic outcome.⁣

I see you. I see all of you. Shall I critique with love or from the same position you intend to battle? To action the latter would mean we challenge your resentment and hate until we both run out of steaming, hot breath. To action the former, would choose the language of peace.⁣

Let me be clear with you. I make medicine from my pain. I know your strengths, your weaknesses, your likes and your dislikes. It’s my job to understand you perhaps even more than I understand my own self and that will frighten you. It should because you’ve been taught to avoid the truth and hide it in the shadows, covered by blankets of shame and rage.⁣"

You can view Clanton's full takeover here.

7. Emily Wurramara took over from Clare Bowditch

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"Ningeningaba, My Name is Emily Wurramara (Ululbulul). I firstly want to pay my respects to the beautiful mob here in “Lutruwita” and pay respects to their ancestors; Past, present and future.

My People are the Warnindilyakwa people from Groote Eylandt and Bickerton Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria (NT). My father is a Filipino/Chinese man. My mother has Turkish, Persian, Greek Roots as well as being a strong Warnindilyakwa woman. I identify as a Bisexual woman. (She/Her). I am a fulltime mumma to my 2 year old daughter K’iigari.

I’m a singer/songwriter and an advocate for suicide awareness and am extremely passionate about protecting this land, the sea and beings that dwell there. Something very close to my heart is helping young Indigenous women to achieve their dreams, to achieve what they told our ancestors we couldn’t achieve. It’s taken me around the world, singing alongside some of the most talented musician in the world."

You can view Wurramara's full takeover here.

8. Allira Potter took over from Olivia Molly Rogers

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"For someone who is super vocal, I wanted to talk about my position as a Black Woman in the White Dominated Wellness space. I remember going to my first ever yoga class and sitting at the end of my mat saying to myself 'where are the dark girls?'

I would walk into most of these spaces thinking to myself where is the diversity?

My eyes were just opened constantly baffled by this space and it’s limited diversity. Where was the representation of Black Women and why weren’t they being shown!

The last 12 months I became a meditation teacher, Aboriginal healer and tapped into my spiritual side to unlock my full potential. I started running meditation circles pre-Covid and started ensuring culture was at the forefront of every single session.

I am closing that gap of Cultural appropriation within the wellness space, because it’s not okay to use Aboriginal culture to boost ticket sales, active wear and also social statuses."

You can view Potter's full takeover here.

9. Sianna Catullo took over from Jamila Rizvi

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"Did you know the Aboriginal flag is copyrighted? It’s the only flag IN THE WORLD that is copyrighted and has a fee attached to using it.

Free the Flag is a campaign we started in in June 2019, after we received a cease and desist from a Non-Indigenous company who has worldwide licensing rights to use the flag on clothing and digital and physical media.

We have been fighting to free the flag for over a year now. @novaperis is our biggest ambassador for this campaign. A motion has been passed in the senate our petition currently has over 75,000 signatures.

If you are looking for ways to support Aboriginal community and people right now, this is something that is easy to get on board and can have a positive impact on community."

You can view Catullo's full takeover here.

10. And finally, Amy McQuire took over from Tara Moss

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"Just by way of introduction, my name is Amy McQuire. I’m a Darumbal and South Sea Islander woman, journalist and writer who grew up in Rockhampton, Central Queensland. I thought I would use this chance to tell a story. It is a true-crime story.

This is Goreng Goreng man Kevin Henry when he was 22. The picture was taken in 1992, just after he was given a life sentence for the murder of an Aboriginal woman in my hometown. We refer to her as Linda, out of respect for her family. She was a strong, smart and educated mother-of-four who died far away from her ancestral lands.

The second picture is of Kevin a couple of years ago, when he was in jail at the Capricornia Correctional Centre in Rockhampton. Kevin has spent over 27 years in prison for the murder. But throughout that time, he has maintained his innocence. Over those past 27 years, he has been trying to get the world to listen.

Three years ago, human rights lawyer, Martin Hodgson, and I began reinvestigating the case. Immediately, we found problems with the police version of events. During that time, we have uncovered a great deal of evidence that points to Kevin’s innocence."

You can view McQuire's full takeover here.

You can keep up to date with BuzzFeed's coverage of the BLM movement here. Bla(c)k Lives Matter.