'This is a white problem': Black Lives Matter puts spotlight on Waminda's work

That's the message from Waminda, an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation in Nowra.

A team of local Aboriginal women from the organisation have run workshops to teach non-Aboriginal people about racism - and they hope the Black Lives Matter movement encourages more people to educate themselves.

Cultural manager Cleone Wellington said participants often found it difficult to confront their own racism, because they can't separate it from their beliefs about whether they are a good or bad person.

The sessions help participants to reflect on how ideas about race have shaped their lives.

"It feels like someone telling you that everything you've been told all your life is wrong, and you have to reflect on what that might mean," she said.

"[At the workshops] people start crying, or they become defensive and start making comments like 'I'm not privileged, I'm not racist' and they're looking for us to make them feel better.

"It's not on us. This is a white problem, this isn't an Aboriginal problem."

The idea can be confronting for many non-Aboriginal people. In addition to the workshops, the team have also been part of a half-hour film that offers a glimpse into the work they're doing.

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The women stressed that although the workshops may make participants feel uncomfortable, they are voluntary. And for many it's a rare opportunity to ask questions that would be inappropriate in any other context.

Although it's not an easy job, the women said it's worth doing because they see real change.

"For a non-Koori person to ask a Koori person those really judgemental, stereotypical, racist questions - you don't get that opportunity elsewhere," Ms Wellington said.

As part of the sessions the women share the day-to-day discrimintation they experience because of the colour of their skin.

"Whenever we go to the shops, I know where my kids are because that's where the security guard will be," said executive manager Kristine Falzon.

"We are constantly being racially profiled.

"Our kids are still being taught in school that Captain Cook discovered Australia. They know that's not the truth."

Program manager Hayley Longbottom said her children also experienced racism at school.

"The kids get asked all the time 'do you have to pay to go to school? Do you have to buy your books? Do you get free stuff?

"When's the change going to come?"

Although the Black Lives Matter movement has put a spotlight on Aboriginal politics, Ms Wellington said it was important to remember that these issues aren't new for the Aboriginal community.

While deaths in custody, the removal of children, statues and blackface may not appear related to newcomers to Aboriginal politics, they - and other topics - have been deeply interconnected for a long time.

"This movement has been going on for 230 years," she said.

"Everything we've been speaking about for hundreds of years, finally we've got a platform and people are listening - why wouldn't we talk about everything?

"We're not just going to talk about one thing, because it's not the one thing. There are so many wrongdoings that have to be acknowledged and rewritten."

Ms Longbottom agreed. She said colonial statues had long been an issue, as they obscure Aboriginal history, and encouraged non-Aboriginal people who want to learn about Aboriginal history and politics to reach out.

"The statues, the flag, the national anthem, the constitution, they're all just kicks in the guts day in and day out," she said.

"And it gets frustrating, it gets tiring.

"Don't fear talking to local people - we're a sharing people and we want people to know about the goodness of us, instead of it always being about a deficit. We're sick of that rhetoric."

The women were clear about the improvements they'd like to see in the Shoalhaven.

They'd like to see Shoalhaven City Council lead the country by adopting the Uluru statement from the heart. They'd like to see Aboriginal people represented in all parts of the local community - from politics to policing. And they'd like non-Aboriginal Australians to take this opportunity to educate themselves.

Ms Falzon said there was potential for everyone to benefit from a united Australia.

"Why wouldn't you celebrate the oldest living culture in the world?

"Mainstream Australia struggles with their identity and we have an opportunity to unite and share ours. The conversations at the moment are an opportunity for change.

"It's not time to sit on the fence, we need action, and everyone plays a role."