The death of George Floyd at the hands of four police officers in Minneapolis on May 25 has shone a damning light on the issue of systemic violence against racial minorities and has since sparked protests not just in the US but around the world. In Australia, this outpouring of outrage over a history of police violence against people of colour has resonated with particular fury, provoking demonstrations in capital cities and towns across the country. On Saturday, June 6, tens of thousands of people marched in Sydney and Melbourne to protest Indigenous deaths in custody, as well as in solidarity with the George Floyd movement.
Sydney
A last-minute attempt by NSW Police to block the protest, due to the current public health orders, led to a tense 24-hours in which a Supreme Court injunction against the planned rally was first granted and then overturned with just minutes to spare. However, it was evident by the already huge turn out that the favourable appeal ruling had been a mere formality.
A crowd estimated to be between 15,000 to 20,000 people assembled at Sydney Town Hall before marching to Belmore Park in Haymarket. The majority of protestors wore masks and additional PPE and hand sanitiser was also distributed throughout the gathering.
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At the protest's heart, amongst many BIPOC protesters and rally organisers, was Leetona Dungay (pictured below). Her son, David Dungay Jr, died in Sydney’s Long Bay jail after police officers stormed his cell and fatally restrained him when he refused to stop eating a packet of biscuits. David Dungay's is one of 434 deaths in custody that protestors are demanding be properly investigated. Currently, there have been no criminal convictions in Australia as a result of the death of a First Nations person in custody.
Black Lives Matter Australia told Time Out that Saturday’s protests aimed "to reach into the depths of our people's hearts as a nation. We want Australians to shine a light within themselves and unlearn the prejudices within that have caused endless pain and injustice in the lives of Indigenous Australians."
Melbourne
Many thousands of demonstrators also took to the streets in the Victorian capital, amassing in front of State Parliament on Spring Street to demand an end to Aboriginal deaths in custody. As with the protest in Sydney, it began with a traditional smoking ceremony conducted by the local First Nations community.
Elders from the Aboriginal community spoke passionately about how the death of George Floyd had exposed the issue of systemic racism around the world.
As the march headed south, thousands converged on Flinders Street Station before peacefully dispersing. Similar marches also took place in Brisbane, where 10,000 people attended, and in Adelaide, where 5,000 protesters demonstrated.