About being Mununga (Whitefulla): making covert group racism visible

Abstract

The main focus of this paper is to expose what goes on between Mununga (White people) in Australia that contributes to the maintenance of racism in hidden and often unconscious ways. Mununga racism in Australia commonly occurs as normal, shared, social activity amongst ordinary, decent, Mununga folk, and it is covert and linked to colonial beliefs and practices. In this context, Mununga are coopted by their own society to oppress others, particularly Blekbala (Indigenous people). However, some challenge that custom and strive to step outside their prevailing social practices. The processes of being co-opted into and challenging colonial practices are explored through the counter-narratives of Mununga allies who are engaged in the work of anti-racism and decolonization. Using an outsider Blekbala perspective with the help of Mununga insider perspectives, I put forward a description and critique of these covert, social practices under the themes of 'Making, unmaking and remaking the Mununga self', 'Deep shared understandings', 'Violence, silence and benevolence', 'Unconstrained Mununga talk' and 'Turning things around'. This is a Black story of White on White.

A critical exploration of staff perceptions of Aboriginal boarding students’ experiences

“…Moreover, it propagates myths that are deeply rooted in social, historical and power inequalities (Dudgeon, Wright, Paradies, Garvey, & Walker, 2014). Complicity with everyday casual racism legitimises discriminatory practices and in the long-term structurally embeds covert racism (Kessaris, 2006). When this is combined with school culture of ambivalence, covert racism can diminish individual and community efforts to embrace diversity, and in turn enable harmful narratives to shape institutional practices, social attitudes and patterns of thinking, while adversely effecting those that are subjected to it (Nakata, 2001).…”

Race, Rules and Relationships: What Can Critical Race Theory Offer Contemporary Aboriginal Boarding Schools?

“…Racism can be expressed through beliefs, emotions, behaviours and practices, and can include negative stereotyping, false beliefs about others, emotions of fear or hatred, practices including name-calling and jokes, or avoidance and discrimination (Czopp et al, 2006;Mitchell et al, 2011;Pedersen et al, 2005). Racism can occur in interpersonal, institutional and cultural contexts, and can often be present regardless of 'good' intentions, through normalised discourse and attitudes that perpetrators themselves may be unaware of (Kessaris, 2006). What CRT highlights is that racism is not just an individual pathology, or a result of hatred by an individual, but rather, it is deeply entrenched within social structures that are historically reproduced and culturally embedded (Vaught & Castagno, 2008).…”

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“…Hegemonic views of social change movements as class-or race-based and adversarial A legacy of the early Marxist/structuralist and social deprivation theories of social change is that social movements are often considered to be inherently adversarial-formed by the disenfranchised and resisted by the beneficiaries of a social order. Dominant group members who promote the injustice of their own group's dominance are treated as 'mutineers' and perceived as particularly threatening to a social order (Kessaris 2006;R Nairn, anti-racism educator, pers. comm.…”