National crisis in Australia
We've had five more Aboriginal people die in this country's criminal legal system in just the last five weeks. We feel this so deeply as blackfellas across this country. We are angry, we are sad, and we are in ongoing mourning.
The deaths of First Nations people in custody is a national crisis. Well over 450 First Nations people have died since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, which reported thirty years ago this month. And no one held accountable for these deaths.
It’s simple - no one should die in custody. It's a symptom of the ongoing and devastating colonial system in this country, it started more than 200 years ago but our people are still being killed.
Because of the ongoing effects of colonisation, land dispossession, forced separation of families and attempts to destroy culture, First Nations people are over-imprisoned and over-targeted by the criminal legal system.
The families and communities of people who have died in custody are organising protests and actions across the country in the lead-up to the 30th anniversary of the Royal Commission. Let’s stand in solidarity with them.
Here are the community-led actions organised** so far:
- Naarm/Melbourne - Sat 10 April, 1pm outside Victorian Parliament House
- Sydney - Saturday 10 April, 1pm at Sydney Town Hall
- Meanjin/Brisbane - Sat 10 April, 10am at King George Square
- Mparntwe/Alice Springs - Sat 10 April, 11am at Court Lawns
- Lismore, NSW - Sat 10 April, 12pm at Lismore Environment Centre
- Boorloo/Perth - Thurs 15 April, 12pm at Forrest Place