Featuring opinion pieces, educational videos and social media content, TalkBlack is a one-stop resource for people looking to join the fight for equality, justice and true representation for First Nations people.
The platform will also feature a podcast launching later this week - TalkBlack the podcast unpacks news, stories and politics from a First Nations perspective and is hosted by GetUp’s First Nations Justice Campaign Director Larissa Baldwin. The first episode features guest Professor Chelsea Watego, and explores her book Another Day In the Colony, the history of protest and January 26.
TalkBlack is a place for people to learn about the issues affecting First Nations people, like stopping Black deaths in custody, preventing fracking in the Northern Territory, campaigning for national laws that protect First Nations cultural heritage, and the history of Invasion Day.
TalkBlack also provides a megaphone for First Nations people whose voices are too often shut out – Traditional Owners, remote communities, Elders and activists on the front lines of these struggles.
GetUp First Nations Justice Campaign Director Larissa Baldwin said:
"We're really excited to launch TalkBlack today. As the 50th anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy's founding approaches, it's a perfect time for Australians to learn more about the history of First Nations resistance and activism that continues to this day.
"So much public debate in Australia treats First Nations people as abstractions, as though we don't have voices and opinions of our own on the issues that affect us. TalkBlack is a statement against that – an antidote to white-saviour mentality and learned ignorance.
"This time each year, there's a huge amount of ill-informed opinion and culture-war bait around Invasion Day – all while the struggles and lived realities of First Nations people across the continent get sidelined and marginalised.
TalkBlack is us reclaiming some of that space. First Nations people aren't sitting silent – we’re standing up, speaking out and acting for ourselves and our futures."
Media contact: Alex McKinnon 0411 829 334
Spokespeople:
Larissa Baldwin, First Nations Justice Campaign Director at GetUp