An Australian version of an open letter from Asian Americans in solidarity with Black Lives Matter has been circulating on social media.
鈥淟etters for Black Lives鈥 is a project that began in the United States to initiate cross-generational conversations between young Asian Americans and their families about anti-Blackness and police violence. The original letter has since gained 200 contributors, 30 translations, and dozens of audio and video recordings.
First Nations justice and sovereignty
Malcolm Turnbull has called for a Royal Commission after seeing on the brutality that has been happening under both his government and the previous Labor government. He said this evidence had not been brought forth at previous inquiries. Not good enough Turnbull!
The killing of two African American men in Minnesota and Louisiana in early July created an uproar across the US and around the world. In Australia there was lots of social media commentary and letters to the press about US racism.
This election was very tight. I don't think any party can claim a mandate. Malcolm Turnbull barely fell over the line. There is no mandate in that.
Turnbull claims to have a mandate 鈥 to not tax the rich and keep giving it to Blackfellas. That is his mandate, and it would be the same if Labor had won.
Another disappointing factor is that in the lead-up to the election, and in the post mortem, we have heard nothing about First Nations people. We are still dying in great numbers and they are arguing about who got the most votes in what seat.
My name is Ken Canning. My traditional name is Burraga Gutya. My people are the Kunja clan of the Bidjara Nation of what is now called south-western Queensland.
I was raised mainly on the coast of Queensland and in Brisbane and, although I have lived in Sydney since the late 1970s, I am still a very proud Murri.
I have been fortunate that since living in Sydney the local Koori community has always taken me in and I feel very much at home here. Many First Nations peoples now living in Sydney are from all over this country and from many different nations.
A meeting of 500 First Nations representatives voted on February 3 to reject Constitutional recognition and to begin talks on self-determination and a treaty with the Victorian government.
The proposed treaty would be a legal document covering Aboriginal affairs and services and addressing past injustices. It would be the first such agreement in Australia and follows similar arrangements with First Peoples in Canada, the US and New Zealand.
Dja Dja Warrung elder Gary Murray said the national debate around Constitutional recognition was just "a distraction".
A memorial was held on January 20 for two First Nations freedom fighters, Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheener.
They were executed in 1842, the first two people executed in Victoria. Their deaths form part of the genocide that accompanied the dispossession of the First Nations people.
The gathering marched to lay flowers at the Victoria Markets north wall carpark, where their remains and those of 9000 others lie in an unmarked grave.
This article on 10 thought-provoking lyrics from Native rap artists in the US first appeared at Indian Country Today Media Network.
On August 12, candidates from the Greens, Socialist Alliance (SA) and newly formed First Nations Political Party (FNPP) spoke to a group of 50 people at La Tropicana cafe in Fremantle.
The forum was organised by SA to highlight environmental and social policies ignored by the major parties in the federal election campaign.
The event was chaired by Fremantle councillor and Western Australian SA co-convenor Sam Wainwright
Kate Davis, Greens candidate for Fremantle, said: 鈥淭he Greens have a renewable energy target of 100% by 2030.
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