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Tens of thousands across the country gathered on the weekend for Black Lives Matter protests, marching in hope of change in a worldwide movement.
Mostly peaceful marches gathered in Wagga Wagga, Katoomba, Port Macquarie, Wollongong, Castlemaine, Newcastle, Melbourne, Canberra, and further afield, while there were reports of capsicum spray used in Sydney.
The thoughts of those marching are perhaps reflected in The Newcastle Herald's Ian Kirkwood opinion piece today, where he points out that for many of the activists today's Queen's Birthday Honours List is an emblem of the institutional oppression they believe is at the heart of a racist nation.
"But underlying the marches, and the distribution of Honours for good works, is a political and social history that most now accept has been disastrous for Australia's original inhabitants," Kirkwood writes.
"The question is, how does the broader nation go about challenging this unsatisfactory status quo, when accepting that Aboriginal people have been downtrodden and victimised does not necessarily mean agreeing to take personal responsibility for 200 years of mistreatment.
"Or does it?"
The numbers at the protests on the weekend highlighted the power of the movement, despite being faced with COVID-19 restrictions and the concerns of spreading or catching the virus, still people marched.
Newcastle's march was the biggest protest it has seen in years, while Port Macquarie-Hastings marchers were told to use their minds, and not fists, in the fight for equality and justice - that education would be their superpower.
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