Challenging the Public Denial of Racism for a Deeper Multiculturalism

Abstract

The further development of Australian multiculturalism must squarely address racism, and a primary step must be the acknowledgement of racism. The Challenging Racism Project (2001–2008) data provide a clear picture of the acknowledgement of racism and of Anglo cultural privilege among Australians. Encouragingly, most Australians recognise that racism is a problem in Australian society. A little under half, however, deny that there is Anglo cultural privilege. Perhaps surprisingly, respondents from non-Anglo-Australian backgrounds, including those born in the Middle East and South Asia, were significantly more likely than those from Anglo backgrounds and Australian-born respondents to deny that racial prejudice exists in Australia. Cultural hierarchies of citizenship regulate the acknowledgement of racism, encouraging denial and deflection, and punishing ‘complaint’ from those more exposed to racism. The broader social pathology identified by this paper is an unevenness in the sense of citizenship across ethnic groups, and addressing this social weakness must be a macro-level ambition for the further development of Australian multiculturalism.

Keywords:

• Anglo Privilege
• Australia
• Belonging
• Citizenship
• Multiculturalism
• Racism
• White Privilege

Notes

1. In December 2005 as many as 5,000 people, mostly white youths of an Anglo background, assembled near Cronulla Beach in Sydney's southern suburbs (Hazzard Report, Strike Force Neil 2006). They were protesting the presence and behaviour of Lebanese-Australians in the area. The crowd chanted slogans, but also sang national anthems (Dunn 2009). Later in the day, sections of the crowd began assaulting people of ‘Middle Eastern’ appearance.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kevin Dunn

Professor Kevin Dunn (BA, Wollongong; PhD, Newcastle; FNGS) is Professor of Human Geography and Urban Studies, and Head of School of Social Sciences at The University of Western Sydney. His areas of research include the geographies of racism, immigration and settlement, Islam in Australia, and local government and multiculturalism. Recent books include Landscapes: Ways of Imagining the World, and his recent articles are published in Population, Space, Place, Ethnicities, The Australian Geographer, Studia Islamika, Urban Studies, Race and Class and the Journal of Australian Indigenous Issues. He is a Fellow and President of the New South Wales Geographical Society

Jacqueline K. Nelson

Jacqueline Nelson (BLibStud, Sydney; MSc, Trinity College) is a PhD candidate in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Western Sydney. Her doctoral work explores place-based anti-racism activity in Australia, and understandings of anti-racism at local and national levels. Her Master's research and research work at the Economic and Social Research Institute in Ireland were both focused on ethnic discrimination in employment. Recent publications are in the areas of bystander anti-racism, and multiculturalism and citizenship