Confronting Racism: The Australian Dream
As Catholics we are called to confront racism. As was written in the Papal Encyclical of the Second Vatican Council, “… social or cultural discrimination in basic personal rights on the grounds of sex, race, colour, social conditions, language, or religion must be curbed and eradicated as contrary to God’s design”(Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes, n 29). Racism is present in Australian society in various forms. Our First Nations Peoples have experienced racism since the European invasion of the 18th Century. Aboriginal Peoples continue to deal with the effects of the dispossession of their lands and culture. Those who dare to speak of the truth of our history and address the issue of racism, especially casual racism, often bear the brunt of further attacks and vilification. Adam Goodes is one example of such a person. The footy field was where he thrived; the only place where the colour of his skin was irrelevant. Goodes’ world fell apart when he became the target of racial abuse during a game, which spiralled into public backlash against him. He spoke out about racism when Australia was not ready to hear the ugly truth, retiring quietly from AFL heartbroken.
On the first Thursday of Term 4 we took our new HSC cohort for 2020 to see the film “The Australian Dream”, which features the story of Adam Goodes. Having begun their study of issues relating to Aboriginal Spiritualities it was an invaluable experience academically but also in terms of their development as socially conscious, moral young people. The students were very positive about the excursion despite the confronting and emotional nature of the film. All students responded to a survey to aid in the debriefing of the experience. Some of their survey responses follow:
“It was a very powerful film: I learned a lot from it and the depth of Adam Goodes' experience. I believe it is a film that society needs to be aware of, to learn that racism should not and will not be accepted in Australian societies. I previously knew that Australia Day was "invasion day" from Modern History, but the film displayed explicit reasons as to why Australia Day should not be celebrated on that day”.
“It was truly an inspiring film to watch and I'm so glad we got the chance to view it. It really enhanced my knowledge about Adam Goodes' story and I was so taken by the sophisticated cinematography and insightful comments made by the various interviewees. I feel more confident and inspired now to put forward my argument supporting an end to racism”.
“It was a fantastic experience and one of the BEST excursions ever organised. Something like this should be continued to be done at our school”.
“Prior to this experience I wasn't really aware of the impact of the Adam Goodes story. No one in my family has a connection to Aboriginal spirituality so I was brought up respecting their culture, but not necessarily understanding why they felt the way they did. I believe everyone in Australia needs to be educated about this and shown this film. It really shows Australia's true culture…. disgusting.”
Louise East - Religious Studies Coordinator