Harmony Day and whitewashing cultural narratives
This year, the Australian Government decided to extend Harmony Day to Harmony Week.
However, across the world, 21 March is known as The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination – a day of mourning – which the United Nations says is “observed annually on the day the police in Sharpeville, South Africa, opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration against apartheid.”
According to the UN, the day marks the beginning of “a week of solidarity with the peoples struggling against racism and racial discrimination”.
So why are we clinging onto Harmony Day, a Howard-era rebranding of this global solidarity movement to end racism? We speak to national director of Democracy in Colour Neha Madhok to find out more.