Lent and racism

It's Lent in the Christian churches, a time to reflect, become aware, and repent of our bad behaviour. To repent means to stop the bad behaviour and put in place systems and practices designed to prevent such behaviour from occuring again. Repentance also means doing what you can to restore and repair the broken relationships your bad bahaviour has left in its wake. Including, of course, making just reparation.

Repentance is not primarily a practice for individuals. It is a practice for institutions, corporations and communities.

At the corporate level, I would call on the churches to repent of their racist behaviour towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, racist behaviour that includes:

• Blak-cladding, that is, making your institution look mob-friendly on the outside, whilst remaining thouroughly racist on the inside. Examples of black-cladding in churches include adorning rooms, buildings, regions and projects with blakfella tropes, hanging Indigenous art, and holding multiple 'welcome' and 'acknowledgement' of country ceremonies. None of these things are bad in themselves. They become bad when they are designed to hide the fact that the organisation continues to discriminate against blakfellas: our bodies, our knowledges, and our cultures.

• Expecting blak people to work for casual rates, or for free. The vast majority of blak people who work for churches do not enjoy permanent, secure, employment in jobs that are ongoing. Most of us work for the church as volunteers or casuals, even if we are ordained and/or have recognised qualifications in theology and ministry. Why? Because we, and what we have to offer, are simply not valued. Not enough to employ us, anyway. If there is a whitefella or someone from a more recent immigrant group going for a proper job, it is they who will most likely get it. For mob are, quite literally, the last and the least in the church's colonial economy.

• expecting underpaid or volunteer blak people (out of the goodness of our hearts) to do the anti-racism work for the whole organisation. For racism is not something that dominant cultures (read 'white' cultures) give much thought to. And certainly not something they allocate time, energy or money to. For, by definition, racism does not affect dominant cultures. 'If it is not happening to me, then it is not happening'. Thus, when blak people complain about being ignored or mistreated, the default response is 'well, you do something about it'. Which is to entirely mis/place where the responsibility lies. It is to burden victims with the task of expiating the pertpetrator's sin.

• marginalising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges. Although blak people have a long experience with this country, an experience which gives us a unique and expert perspective on how to live the life of the spirit well in this place, that is apparently of little or no consequence for the dominant culture. The churches and their instutions continue to ignore and supress the fact of our spiritual seniority in this country and worship, instead, at the feet of Europe and North America. You cannot study blak knowledges at the churchly institutions where whitefellas study. You will rarely encounter blak teachers, preachers or liturgists, except for those who are brought in for one-off, entirely token, bits and pieces. Because what is important is whitefella knowledge. Everything else, especially the knowledge of mob, is entirely surplus to requirements.

All of these corporate behaviours do enormous damage to the bodies and spirits of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We are forever wounded. We hurt. We languish. Our health suffers. For each day we must rise to the struggle to be ourselves, even in this, our own country.

The remedies for these damaging behaviours are obvious, are they not? Change the heart, not just the outward appearance. Value blak people and what we can contribute. Employ and learn from us. Care for us. Work with us. Allow us be who we are in God. Just as Jesus would.

Garry Worete Deverell

Lent 2025