Justice for Cassius

What a week to be studying Understanding Indigenous Education and Perspectives for my masters.

I have been reading on stolen generations, the Northern Territory Intervention, the Bringing Them Home Report and much more, as well as watching powerful documentaries on Gurrumul and Rachel Perkins, The First Australians.

One of the questions we have been looking at are what are the barriers to change and what are the windows to change for Australia’s First Nations people.

Then, in the middle of it all, Racism – a definite still there barrier – rears its ugly insidious prevalence again.

So what are the windows? The windows of seeing what happens now that something like the situation for Cassius and his family.

Going back to study and being a writer, I will be thinking an reading about what education, and teachers and schools, can do to challenge and change such things, and also how much the WHOLE community need to work together to rectify it for the future. I think researched rational writing, emotive make you think writing, creative make you think (creative works), all of it is needed- not to mentions narratives of hope.

As for education, what can it do, if community, families, and more aren’t alongside, as teachers are burdened with more and more of the transformation processes, for which surely we are all responsible.

For all those living with receiving racist constant microaggressions, which can flare into full on attacks, for all those on public transport, in lines, in school yards, who want to speak up and don’t, for all those wanting to bring anti-bias, pro-understanding into their classrooms, stand up and be counted. Don’t be content with a broken heart!

Be the change you want to see in the world, whether bystander, victim, observer, and if you were thinking of being a potential perpetrator, how can we change your heart!

Some things I will be reading (future post on its way with more resource links)

Australian Human Rights Commission

Workplace Cultural Diversity Tool

Also I will go back and look through the materials of Erfan Daleri’s training as well!

Which I started but couldn’t get to weekly at the time