“The racist comments I receive as an Indigenous woman.”

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Every new notification or alert on my public social profiles should be approached with caution.

This might be a harmless comment, but it’s just as likely to be a disgusting piece of racial hatred, publicly posted by trolls hiding behind fake profiles and cowardice.

As an Indigenous woman, business founder, and mother, I’m tired of pretending racism doesn’t exist. The kind of attacks that caused Stan Grant to step down from his starring role are just the tip of the iceberg. Any Indigenous person with a profile or platform is a target.

It is depressing and predictable that this type of abuse increases when it comes to important dates in the calendar. This week is National Reconciliation Week, but other key dates like NAIDOC Week, National Apology Day, and even January 26 seem like open invitations for trolls to launch their attacks.

Watch: Stan Grant on racism in Australia. The post continues below.

If you’re reading this and think you didn’t see the abuse happening, it’s probably because we’re doing a good job of hiding it.

Not because they were trying to protect trolls, but because they were trying to protect members of our online communities and audiences who trust us as a safe space to engage, learn and connect. They don’t need to see abusive, ignorant or racist comments.

My skin has thickened over the years, but that doesn’t mean the thousands of people who follow my activity online should also put up with it.

The majority of abuse comes from fake troll accounts that were created with the purpose of spreading racist abuse online. And sadly, even when I report the abuse, Facebook’s comments aren’t encouraging or helpful. They say the comments don’t violate their community guidelines, but how does racism not violate community standards?

Over the weekend, the Assembly of First Peoples of Victoria launched a petition calling on Facebook to do better when it comes to tackling trolls. We need our online communities to be safe spaces, where people won’t be abused.

A few days ago, we shared an article about National Apology Day (May 26), to which one person replied that it should be called National Get Over It Day. This kind of comment cuts deeply.

We would not expect another person or group that has been affected by trauma to recover. So why should we expect people whose children have been forcibly taken away or who live with the impact of racial vilification and systemic abuse to get over it? Instead, we should respond with empathy and understanding.

I’m tired of pretending these trolls don’t exist and hiding their venomous comments online.

Listen to Mamamia The Quicky’s daily podcast and this episode on Stan Grant’s pile-on. The post continues below.

So how can we all do better?

The theme for this year’s Reconciliation Week is “Be a Voice for the Generations”, and it is an important reminder of how we can all use our voices to create a future nation that is a safer, more supportive and more understanding so that our children grow up. .

As a mother of one daughter, I am determined to be part of positive change in building a fairer and more equitable Australia.

Past generations had no voice, but today we have it.

Education plays a big role. We know that supporting and including First Nations children and their families in early learning settings is key to helping them thrive within the education system in elementary, secondary and tertiary education. . Helping early childhood educators become more culturally aware means empowering them to better support Indigenous children and their families, while integrating cultural understandings and teachings into their daily practice.

When I started my business to help early childhood educators respectfully include Indigenous perspectives in their curriculum and connect with their local Indigenous community eight years ago, things were different. Cultural awareness was a box-ticking exercise, done maybe once or twice a year to tie in with NAIDOC week or Reconciliation week.

During this time, I saw a broader change. It is now more common for cultural awareness to be integrated into everyday life. But we still have a long way to go.

When it comes to healing the age-old wounds of our country, we can all play a part. If you want to be an ally and an advocate, there are several ways you can get involved.

This week of reconciliation, you can:

Ask your child’s school or childcare center if they have a reconciliation action plan with Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Education. Ask your workplace if it has a reconciliation action plan in place. Elevate First Nations voices, ideas and businesses on your own social media or within your own sphere of influence. Attend and support Reconciliation Week events in your community.

More importantly, try to think beyond reconciliation week.

How can you build positive change and support into your life, work, family, and business so that it’s a year-round effort, not just a one-time date on the calendar?

We all need to be aware of the reality of racism in our country, if we want to create a country we can be proud of.

Jessica Staines is an early childhood teacher, speaker, author, advocate, educator and counsellor. As the founder and director of Koori Curriculum and a proud Wiradjuri woman, Jessica has played many significant roles nationally and internationally in building cultural understanding, reconciliation and harmony, including as a Indigenous Understanding, Reconciliation and Harmony, including as an Indigenous Advisor with ABC. nursery school.

Feature Image: Provided.

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