Tolerating racism is racism.

“Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.”

~ Maya Angelou

My current read, Colour, written by Ken Reynolds, someone who lived on the privileged side of the railway line in South Africa during apartheid, depicts the life of a young man who fell in love with a voice on the other side of the phone.

Their relationship started with a phone affair across the brutal apartheid line spanning several months talking to each other on the phone. Until they met in person.

There are many stories borne out of that inhumane period of white supremacy in South Africa.

Currently in Australia, debates about The Voice Referendum are under the spotlight. When I listen to the debates among the First Nations people, where they express their views for or against The Voice Yes/No vote in Australia, it traumatises me to witness the confusion among so many advocating for the No vote. After years of systemic racial and cultural injustice, in my opinion Indigenous Australians are still confused about what is just and fair.

Perhaps a fear of getting it right for future generations.

In South Africa, apartheid was a systemic break down of races by denying certain race groups their basic human rights. Many people who lived under the apartheid system in South Africa feared change.

There are many who still feel that giving them back their human right was wrong. They confuse bad/corrupt governing with their human right. Those are two different battles.

People who have not been exposed to the humiliating and downright inhumane system of apartheid or any form of racial oppression, cannot comprehend the suffering it causes people. The psychological damage is enormous.

For many of my generation, it’s an ongoing battle and we still suffer one way or another from the brutality imposed on us. A racial radar that we cannot rid ourselves of. That is why it’s important to document our stories, not only to record the atrocities, but to record how we survived the brutal reign of constitutional white supremacy.

Racism is still with us. We see it every day. Sometimes it’s violent, and sometimes it’s harmless. It is up to us to prepare the coming generations for what they have to face.

I wish we had a safe place where we can reflect on practice and impact, truly assess the damage and learn from it.

Really learn how to put these experiences into context with what is happening around us today.