Stop Black Deaths in Custody — Justice for George Floyd

Overview

This Saturday, June 6, rallies will be held across Australia in protest of Black and Indigenous deaths at the hands of police, both locally and in the US. Held in solidarity with the protests currently happening in the States — in response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis — and in support of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, the Melbourne rally is also a call to action on the systemic mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples by police.

Since 1991's royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody, another 432 Indigenous Australians have died in custody, including Dunghutti man David Dungay Jr, who's 2015 death draws many parallels to that of Floyd.

Organised by the Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance, the Melbourne protest is called Stop All Black Deaths in Custody — Justice for George Floyd #BLM. It'll be held from 2–5pm, starting at the Parliament House steps.

While Victoria's COVID-19 cases are declining, we're still in the midst of a pandemic and rally attendees are encouraged to practise social distancing measures, with the organisers saying everyone must wear a mask, stand as far apart as possible and do not attend if they are feeling unwell. If you have even mild symptoms, it's strongly encouraged you go and get tested.

On Thursday, Victorian Chief Medical Officer Brett Sutton released a statement urging Victorians to "consider other ways to show support. Unfortunately now is not the time for thousands of people to gather together, putting your and others' health at risk. We are still in the middle of a pandemic."

If you can't attend, but would still like to do your part, you can donate to an Indigenous Australian charity or organisation — including to the family of Dungay Jr, who are currently raising money to cover legal costs — and educate yourself on Australia's Indigenous history. To help start with the latter, here are 13 films by Indigenous Australian filmmakers you can stream.