A new campaign to tackle racism launched by the Australian Human Rights Commission was partly paid for by a sponsor who redirected funding from the AFL’s Collingwood football club after a report commissioned by the club found a culture of “structural racism”.
The AHRC said it hopes to tackle racism by appealing to those who have not experienced it.
“Racism: It Stops with Me” targets Australians without experiences of racism, urging them to reflect and understand the harm it causes.
After a stinging rebuke of its deeply entrenched racism, insurance company CGU withdrew its sponsorship of Collingwood and announced it would redirect funds to initiatives to tackle racism.
Australian Race Discrimination Commissioner, Chin Tan, said the campaign is an opportunity for all Australians to reflect on how racism and discrimination effects everyday Australians.
“Racism is a longstanding issue in Australia,” Tan said.
“If we are going to make a change then we need people from right across the spectrum – including those who don’t have lived experiences of racism.”
Keyarny Lamb, a spokesperson for the campaign said racism and discrimination has taken its toll on her and her loved ones’ daily lives at work, home and school.
“I’ve been exposed to racism on many different levels, whether it be through law enforcement [or] in the community.”
“It’s something that’s really kind of shaped me as a person,” the Kamilaroi and Yorta Yorta woman said.
Lamb said she hoped the campaign would raise awareness about the effects of racism and discrimination and empower people to stand up and call it out.
“It’s about opening up their minds and it’s about starting a conversation. It’s not looking to blame,” Lamb said.
The AHRC said racism, discrimination and targeted abuse has been on the rise during the pandemic, and since the reckoning prompted by the 2020 murder of George Floyd in the US, along with the Black Lives Matter movement.
“Covid-19 shone a light, particularly on the anti-Asian hate in Australia while Black Lives Matters highlighted injustices, particularly against Indigenous and African Australians.
“It has been on the rise and remains a serious challenge to our capacity to live in a just, free and equal society,” Tan said.