A skywriter flew overhead yesterday morning, inscribing the word ‘Eternity’ in cloud-like trails across a crisp blue, early winter sky. The flourish of the copperplate letters is instantly recognisable to a Sydney-sider as an homage to Arthur Stace, otherwise known as Mr Eternity. Stace became part of the folklore of the city when he would spend day after day writing this word all over town, in beautiful cursive script despite his being illiterate - he is estimated to have written it more than 500,000 times over a 35 year period.
I’m not sure who or what was behind yesterday morning’s public sky art display, but it got me thinking about the word eternity and what relevance, if any, it might have to the incredible global upheaval we are in the midst of. While Stace’s preoccupation with the term stemmed from more theological roots, instead I started thinking about eternity through the lens of time. The eternal, seemingly intractable problems we face as a society. In the context of the surge of (absolutely necessary) activism around the Black Lives Matter movement in the US, and a parallel shift in momentum occurring here in Australia during/off the back of National Reconciliation Week, it speaks to the eternal war being waged on America’s Black community, and our own failure to adequately acknowledge and stand with our First Nations people.
The reason these issues endure is of course that they are systemic in nature - the ‘system’ has literally been designed to exacerbate and perpetuate these challenges. As a person who experiences incredible privilege on account of being a blond-haired white person living in the Eastern suburbs of Australia, I am absolutely complicit in the ongoing systemic issues at play. Until now, a certain analysis-paralysis has limited my understanding of this role, and like many people in a similar situation, fear of doing the wrong thing has stopped me doing much at all. This week has been a much-needed catalyst in shifting that state, and stepping up in determination of being a true ally, in particular to Australia’s First Nations people.
The great feminist and revolutionary Angela Davis once remarked that being radical simply means grasping at the root. For me to tackle my own hesitancy around taking action, I wanted to understand just how a system functions and which levers for change are most important. Inspired by the work of systems thinker Donella Meadows, I came across her powerful framework for how systems can be meaningfully changed. This is not specific to any one issue, only to system change as a general principle.
Meadows’ model maps the leverage points we have available to move the needle on system change, moving outwards from the least impactful (which sit closest to the mechanics of the system itself) to the most deeply impactful (which deal with the paradigm itself and the goal of the system and its design). I want to acknowledge here that I am in absolutely no way qualified to discuss the issue of systemic racism in any practical sense. Instead, I want to use a systems thinking lens to approach my own education on the issue, and first build muscle around the most critical piece of the puzzle - the power to see paradigms as they are.
In line with this systems thinking approach, and to support with this step toward paradigm shifting, Where Change Started has developed a starter kit around becoming actively ‘anti-racist’, outlining four key stages toward becoming an effective ally. I have summarized at a very high level below but encourage reading the full document:
Awareness of the truth that a racial injustice exists
Education and being intentional about seeking the information about racial injustice from a range of sources, perspectives and experiences
Self-interrogation of ways in which your behaviour might perpetuate (or at least be complicit in condoning) racial injustice
Community action to authentically show up in support of creating change
The instinct is always to move to step four as a way of feeling like you’re doing something worthwhile, but I have always been challenged by the notion of marching, protesting and even donating when I stand in full recognition of not having applied myself in steps one to three . Perhaps in these urgent times, it is important that we both learn and show up simultaneously, but one should not be at the expense of the other.
In the last week alone there has been a phenomenal outpouring of lists of resources, books, movies and thinkers to follow to raise awareness of the paradigm we operate in as it relates to systemic racism. At this point, the truth is if you still don’t know where to start, you’re not ready to do the work.
The other message that has come through clearly is that this time requires us to listen, to understand and to stand in solidarity with those people and communities most affected by systemic racism. In terms of ‘doing’, it’s clear that one action we can take is to use what platform we have to lift up these issues and amplify the voices of those whose experience actually is the centre of this narrative, or who are doing authentic work to change the game as a true ally.
To that end, I wanted to celebrate and amplify the people and resources that have been critical in my journey to understanding so far. It is by no means an exhaustive list, as I wanted to be additive to what is already circulating, as well as only sharing things I have meaningfully engaged with to date. I would love to hear what you have found helpful in navigating these issues yourselves.
TECH
One of the absolute best thinkers about diversity, inclusion and equitable system design in tech is Aubrey Blanche, currently Head of Equitable Design and Impact at Culture Amp, and previously Head of Diversity and Belonging at Atlassian.
Mikaela Jade is a Cabrogal woman, founder of InDigital and pioneer in the Australian tech sector.
Gilimbaa is a Brisbane-based design agency that specializes in strategic communication design that celebrates community and culture. Hat tip to my friend and MD of Gilimbaa Amanda Lear who helped steer me in the right direction to some resources for my education.
THE ECONOMY
Trading Blak is a collective of Aboriginal business owners raising awareness of cultural exploitation.
Blak Business brings together information to make Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander history, politics, voices, creators etc accessible to all.
Amy McQuire is a Dharumbal and South Sea Islander woman and journalist focused on issues of racism, feminism and justice for Indigenous people. She has also launched the Curtain Podcast.
Women’s Agenda is a women-led media company that I think does a brilliant job of raising awareness of the issues facing our Indigenous community, and giving a platform to important First Nations voices. Many of those I follow, I learned about thanks to Women’s Agenda.
THE HUMAN CONDITION
The Uluru Statement. Enough said.
IndigenousX is a Twitter account founded by Luke Pearson in 2012 that amplifies the voices and stories of Indigenous people through its rotating host role.
The cinema release of In My Blood It Runs was interrupted by COVID19 but has been released online and is a stunning film by the director of Gayby Baby, Maya Newell. Do yourself a favour and watch it.
The White Shift is a labor of love and service by my friend Sally Rumble, an Aussie based in the US who has spent the last decade+ being educated around racial inequality. It is the go-to resource for white women to understand the role we do and should play.
Me and White Supremacy is Layla Saad’s primer on challenging the embedded racism we carry from our history as the oppressor. I am only at the beginning, and there are a number of other critical books of this nature, but this is definitely a go-to to get started on awareness building.
I feel it’s important to say I’m not sure my voice is particularly needed in this conversation, however amidst the current climate and my continuing desire to write, to not touch on it felt like ignoring the elephant in the room. I hope I have demonstrated adequate respect in my framing to the true protagonists of this story, and my determination to muddle through towards what it looks like to be an ally. I am happy to receive feedback to the contrary as this is all part of the learning.
I also wanted to thank you all for the most encouraging and heart-warming response to my first article - your support means so much as I build confidence in sharing my mind :)