“A Roar of Rage”, “Toddlers with Guns” and “Eternal Bloody Protest”: some First Nations peoples’ perceptions about #BlackLivesMatter activism in Australia

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article explores the experiences of First Nations participants as the #BlackLivesMatter protests burst onto Australian mainstream and social media platforms and onto Australian streets in 2020. We explore First Nations participants’ perceptions about the significance and relevance of #BlackLivesMatter in Australia to support First Nations existing political campaigns to address structural racism and settler colonialism in the Australian context. We consider the twin structures of racism and settler colonialism to comparatively analyse the historical experiences of First Nations, in Australia and the US, and Black people in the US in an effort to understand convergences and divergences in the contemporary activist imperatives and aspirations of each group. We conclude by acknowledging that while #BlackLivesMatter activism does have the potential to productively complement First Nations anti-racism activist imperatives and aspirations, it falls short of addressing First Nations anti-colonial imperatives and aspirations.