From Black Lives Matter to Invasion Day rallies to the continuing fight to #FreetheRefugees, there is a growing movement in Victoria and around the country demanding justice and equality for First Nations people and people of colour.
Disturbingly, toxic racism, white supremacy and far-right nationalism are also on the rise. In Victoria, Nazis are organising in the open spreading hatred and fear, and groups like Reclaim Democracy are spreading disinformation and influencing parliamentarians.
As a country, we also have not reckoned with the truth about our history of colonisation, dispossession and frontier violence – or with the ongoing harm of entrenched disadvantage that exists for First Nations people to this day.
Victoria should be a place where everyone has justice and equality.
But we have so much work to do.
We need to rebuild the systems that fail First Nations people.
We need to dismantle white supremacy and stop the spread of hate and division from far-right groups.
And we need to end structural racism that discriminates against people based on the colour of their skin at all levels of society - whether at the workplace or the sports club, or in access to housing, education or healthcare.
The tide of change is coming, but we must act together.
We can unite together to reckon with our past and build a more equal, compassionate and anti-racist future for all of us.
Header image taken at Invasion Day rally in Naarm/Melbourne in Jan 2021 by Julian Meehan.