Whiteness in Parliamentary Debates of Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act

Posted on by Dr Zuleyka Zevallos
The front of Parliament House, showing a white building, with a colonnade façade and a four-legged steel flagpole, where the Australian flag flies. There is a paved areas and grass on either side

Politicians embody state power. They create laws and are elected to represent democracy, however, many of their decisions maintain racism and social inequality. In this sense, they personify institutional racism. A clear example is former Attorney-General George Brandis, who was one of the key drivers to amend 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975. He worked alongside Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (considered a “moderate” Liberal politician), to weaken racial protections.

Continue reading Whiteness in Parliamentary Debates of Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act

Harmony Day and Racism in Australia

Posted on by Dr Zuleyka Zevallos
A community of migrants sit on a lawn, watching performers on a stage in the distance

On Twitter, on 21 March 2017, celebrity chef Adam Liaw started a great conversation, by tweeting: “It’s #HarmonyDay so I want to be a bit frank about race.” Australia celebrates multiculturalism on Harmony Day annually, the same day as (the frankly more significant) International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Liaw’s conversation was more aligned with this international event. Off the back of proposed changes to legal protections against racism, and two cases of racism in the arts and academia, it’s never been clearer, the importance of maintaining a sustained focus on proactively working to end racial discrimination.

Continue reading Harmony Day and Racism in Australia

Interview: Science March on Washington

Posted on by Dr Zuleyka Zevallos

I’ll be sharing with you some recent media interviews I’ve done on issues with diversity in the March for Science. The first is by STAT News.

Source: STAT News

“Australian-based sociologist Zuleyka Zevallos, in an email to STAT, pointed to what she called ‘racist dog-whistling’ by the Los Angeles march chapter in a Twitter post that was since deleted: ‘some scientists [are] concerned with the march turning into [a] political event and losing its focus. What do YOU pledge to do to keep it peaceful?” The leap from ‘political’ to ‘violent’ did not sit well with some minority science advocates. “

Last week, Zevallos published an article about the march’s various diversity problems — a move she made after ‘close to two months of equity missteps, and many scientists were fed up by having offered their volunteering, advice and resources, only to be ignored,’ she said.”

This article has many troubling aspects. From how diversity is discussed by one of the March for Science committee members (diversity “diminishes science”); to the revelation post-publication that one of the former committee members quoted (Morris) has a long history of White supremacist and sexist behaviour; to, it seems, possible unethical practices by the journalist (this piece was updated with additional quotes by committee members in response to being misquoted).

What a mess.

Individual Racism Distracts From Structural Change

Posted on by Dr Zuleyka Zevallos
The Aboriginal flag flies in the foreground against a clear blue sky, with the Australian flag in the lower background

“When we focus on the individual, or the individual instance of racism, we actually miss out on looking at society and how it continues to perpetuate these sorts of structures that discriminate against these groups of people… We seem very keen to pin it on individual people rather than actually re-imagining a society that exists and doesn’t elevate these sorts of dialogues.”

Continue reading Individual Racism Distracts From Structural Change

Sociology of Waiting in Line

Posted on by Dr Zuleyka Zevallos

When I visited the Anne Frank House, I lined up for the better part of three hours. The experience was well worth it. The house, converted into a museum, is narrow and dense with people. There is rich information about Anne, her family, her religiosity, and of course there is much education about the Holocaust. Visitors can see the fragile pages of her original journals, video interviews with her father, friends and others who have been impacted by her bravery.

People line up down the street of the Anne Frank House
Continue reading Sociology of Waiting in Line

Yabun Festival 2017

Posted on by Dr Zuleyka Zevallos

Djiringanj Dancers, a group of women cultural performers, singing about the “West Wind” at the Corroboree grounds, during the Yabun Festival.

The Yabun Festival is a celebration for Survival Day. The 26 of January is a national holiday that marks the day British ships arrived in Australia and began the genocide of Indigenous Australians. Survival Day is a day led by Indigenous Australians who affirm the resilience, creativity and excellence of First Australians. This year, the Invasion Day Protests, which aim to change the date and meaning of Australia Day, ended by protesters joining Yabun at the end of the march to enjoy music, stalls, cultural performances, speeches and more.

Continue reading Yabun Festival 2017

Invasion Day Protest 2017

Posted on by Dr Zuleyka Zevallos

No pride in genocide! I am in Sydney, land of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, who have looked after these lands for over 75,000 years. I pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging.

The 26 January is a painful day for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It is a date commemorating the day British ships (”the First Fleet”) arrived on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lands. It is a day that marks the decimation of First Australians; the dispossession of their land; the removal of children to be raised in Missions and in White foster homes with no ties or knowledge of their culture (“the Stolen Generation”); amongst many other human rights crimes. This history impacts Indigenous life chances in the present-day.

On the 26th, I joined 10,000 people in Sydney who marched in solidarity with Indigenous Australians to tell the Australian Government to change the date of Australia Day so that First Australians aren’t being excluded through a national holiday making genocide. Another 50,000 people marched in Melbourne, and tens of thousands more did the same in cities and town around Australia.

Below, you can read my tweets of the protest as it unfolded.

Intergenerational crowd protesting for Indigenous rights on 26 January 2017. Continue reading Invasion Day Protest 2017

Intersectionality and the Women’s March

Posted on by Dr Zuleyka Zevallos
crowd at the Sydney Women’s March, with a woman holding a “Black lives matter” sign bearing the Aboriginal flag, with her hand on the head a young boy who holds a sign made from the symbol for “woman,” bearing religious symbols for Islam, Judaism, Christianity and Hinduism, with the words, #WomensEquality and #YesAllWomen

This is the first of a two-part reflection on the global Women’s March that occurred on 21 January 2017. It reflects the tensions between the initial goal of the Women’s March in Washington, which aimed to be inclusive of intersectionality, and the White women who wanted to attend the March, but objected to this aim.

Despite many positive outcomes, the issues discussed here that centre on whiteness continued to affect the attendance, experience and discussions of the marches after the event. This post examines the attitudes of White women as discussed in an article by The New York Times, which reflect the broader dissent expressed by white women who continue to oppose intersectional conversations about the Women’s March.

The issues here remain relevant not simply as women around the world reflect on the racism and exclusion they faced at the marches, but also because one of the co-organisers, Linda Sarsour, is currently facing racist backlash only days after the event.

The second part to this discussion is forthcoming and it will be a visual reflection of my attendance at the Sydney March.

We support the advocacy and resistance movements that reflect our multiple and intersecting identities. We call on all defenders of human rights to join us
Women’s March organisers: Tamika Mallory; Linda Sarsour [holding a baby]; and Carmen Perez
Continue reading Intersectionality and the Women’s March