Shades of Michael Jackson

Life seems to have been busy and yet, I’m feeling guilty for not doing enough; enough work on the book, enough home cooking, enough exercise, enough cleaning. And here I am writing about something totally unrelated to any of those things, when I could be doing any one of them. Well the washing and vacuuming are done, at least.

My ongoing reading about Australian Indigenous issues continues to make me more aware of the current disjuncture between white and black. There’s many and complex concerns; none of it is easy to interpret, let alone resolve. But one issue could be described as “How black is black enough”? An article in the current edition of Artlink, "The Politics of Skin: Not Black Enough" (1), an Australian Indigenous art magazine, discusses the problems associated with the gradual loss of the visible marker of being black. On the one hand, Aboriginal activists of mixed European-Indigenous heritage who may be more brown or white rather than black are often accused of not having a right to comment on Indigenous issues. Conversely those who don’t comment may be seen as having taken the easy “white” road; being of paler skin tones can offer the ability to blend into mainstream society, but often at a cost the personal identity and self-esteem.

The issue, in my eyes at least, is not about colour; it is about culture. No-one expects the Jews to forgo Passover, to give up their menorah or cease wearing their yarmulke. No-one would be game to suggest as much.
The Poles, so decimated by the ravages of world War Two, scattered across this country and retain their customs in quiet symbiosis with the Italians, Greeks, Turks, Lebanese, Vietnamese, Indonesians, Britons, Indonesians, Indians, Africans. We may not be comfortable with what we do not understand, but over time, Australia continues to accommodate the differences, to enjoy the benefits of the best of each. And as each New Australian (which the Albanian born niece of Mother Teresa proudly described herself as to me just two weeks ago) settles here and builds a family, we accept that they will retain many of the customs of their forebears for many generations. It is the richness of cultural diversity that gives this country the vast array of local festivals and cuisine. We all benefit.

Why should the Australian Aborigines, the longest inhabitants of this land, be afforded less courtesy and respect than the most recent immigrant? Colour is irrelevant. Culture is all that matters, and we, all of us, are the lesser if we fail to recognise and protect this one simple premise.

(1) Browning, D., The Politics of Skin. Artlink, 2010;30(1):22-26.