How do Light-Skinned Aboriginal Australians Experience Racism?: Implications for social work

Abstract

There has been little discussion in Australia about the different experiences of racism directed towards light-skinned Aboriginal people. Research on racism in Australia has tended to incorporate all Aboriginal people and has not examined in detail the experiences of lighter-skinned Aboriginal people. This paper is based on research that was undertaken as part of a study on light-skinned Aboriginal people with little or no community or kinship ties and how they formulated their cultural identity. The author uses the concept of lateral violence to show how many light-skinned Aboriginal people experience racism both from Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. This paper highlights the extensive social and psychological consequences of racism and lateral violence and discusses what this means for social work practice in Australia.

What’s in a label: social factors and health issues for a small group of Aboriginal people born in Brisbane, Australia

“…Chapter 6 are comparable to other studies (Mellor 2003;Ziersch et al 2011), including one study that used an Aboriginal interviewer (Bennett 2014). Some interviewees may have been reluctant to explore their cultural identity narratives further with me depending on their perception of cultural safety of the interview context.…”

“…In 2013, racism towards Aboriginal people was a topic of considerable public debate in cultural inferiority, welfare dependency, alcoholism, dysfunction or the traditional 'fullblood' noble savage trope (Dodson 1994;Mellor 2003 (Bennett 2014;Boladeras 2002). When confronting racism, however, Aboriginal people are often accused of being oversensitive (Augoustinos et al 1999: 365).…”

“…The few recent qualitative studies that have explored experiences of contemporary racism as narrated by Australian Aboriginal people in an urban setting have been in the fields of public health (Ziersch et al 2011), human movements (Nelson 2012), social psychology (Mellor 2003;Mellor 2004), social work (Gair et al 2015;Bennett 2014) and anthropology (Cowlishaw 2004). As yet, sociology as a discipline has been rather silent in relation to this discussion (Butler-McIlwraith 2006).…”

‘They say I’m not a typical Blackfella’: Experiences of racism and ontological insecurity in urban Australia

“…Boladeras (2002: 135) exposed discrimination based on the misconception that 'If you're middle class you can't be Aboriginal.' Similarly, high levels of racism have been reported by fair-skinned Aboriginal people (Bennett, 2014;Boladeras, 2002). When confronting racism, however, Aboriginal people are often accused of being oversensitive (Augoustinos et al, 1999: 365).…”

“…The few recent qualitative studies that have explored experiences of contemporary racism as narrated by Australian Aboriginal people in an urban setting have been in the fields of public health (Ziersch et al, 2011), human movements (Nelson, 2012), social psychology (Mellor, 2003;, social work (Gair et al, 2015;Bennett, 2014) and anthropology (Cowlishaw, 2004). As yet, sociology as a discipline has been rather silent in relation to this discussion (Butler-McIlwraith, 2006).…”