Been pretty intense preparing for @meeanjinmarkets what gets me through is Blak humour. It plays a critical role in our survival & why I feature it on my products. Blak humour helps in working through the trauma of colonisation. It helps deal with the exhaustion of whiteness
Last 6mths of employment this year, my workplace had me crying & mob had me laughing. #blackfellatwitter literally saved me. Biting, satirical, thought provoking, womba, dry, witty, only for us, put white ppl in their place, laugh out loud on a quiet train, Blak humour ❤️
Blak humour is intrinsic part of my identity. But white ppl/orgs translate our humour to ‘not working’ 🙄 I’ve been ‘spoken to’ for laughing too much. When mob are together we work through wkplace trauma with humour. But find ourselves whispering & soft laughing to avoid white 👀
I’m no expert. Angelina Hurley has done quite a lot of study on this news.griffith.edu.au/2019/12/02/fil… And Pearl Duncan espace.library.uq.edu.au/data/UQ_345997
Angelina & Dr Chelsea Bond were part of the Wild Black Women program at 988fm which only this week announced it was finishing up ☹️ their biting humour gave us mob life. Also validation about the critical way we interpret & dissect events, humour is part of that
Mob of us last weekend saw Kylan Ambrum perform. There were about 6 tables, 2 with Murris, 1 Maori. Well half the room was screaming hysterically. The other half was a bit unsure. Kylan said to the migs laugh when the mob laugh. Brrrrt Image

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More from @IndigenousX

2 Dec
I want to talk impacts of racism & intergenerational trauma, speaking of my families story. I want to speak this acknowledging how my mental health deteriorated this year
I won’t go into heavy detail *Warning for mob, it will speak Stolen Generation, dormitories & systemic abuse*
Nanna Georgina (5) & sister Harriet (8) were Stolen from the Daintree early 1900s. Troopers told them their mother died in hospital giving birth (We’re still not sure) they were taken to Yarrabah & lived in the dormitory Image
Around the same time grandad Silas is removed to Yarrabah from Cooktown (we think) we are not sure how his mum Granny Ginny came to be there? They only removed ‘halfcastes’ from families. Silas was Granny’s only child. We think she tracked him to Yarrabah ImageImage
Read 19 tweets
2 Dec
peeps following me this week on IndigenousX probs have noticed a) I tweet a lot in bursts b) I tell like to share my world as a Blak mum fighting your run of the mill day-to-day / workplace racism c) I share what it’s like raising neurodiverse kids d) I love story telling
I actually love twitter coz I do this 👆🏽 in a safe space. Ppl criticise twitter but As a Blak woman I have very clear boundaries in the way I engage here, which is

1. Follow all Blackfellas (well there’s a few 🙄 & 🤬)
I learn what mob are doing & help amplify & educate
2. I only engage with true non-Indigenous allies. So until I know you walk the talk I’m not that chatty with ppl

3. I always see what @IndigenousX @IndigenousXLtd & all Blak journos in Blak media & white media are covering to stay up-to-date with news
Read 5 tweets
1 Dec
Once upon a time, a Murri girl was growing up in Cairns wanting to make a difference in the world. She’s fiesty & a fashionista & knows her future husband must share her passions, support her endeavours, stand up against injustice, be adventurous & kind ImageImage
Meantime a Cypriot boy lived with his family in Famagusta. Until the Turks violently invaded his village. The family flee for their lives. mum pregnant with his little brother. They come to Melbourne as refugees & then to Townsville. He is a gentle soul ImageImage
now a man he moves to Cairns & one fateful night at Tropos spots a Murri woman. He asks her to dance

The song: the best things in life are free (she dances exactly like Janet 🔥)

It’s a rocky courtship. His mum is Greek Orthodox & not impressed with her son’s decision. Brrrt Image
Read 6 tweets
1 Dec
One of my battles for 2021 will be the education system. I know racist books in school libraries is rife Bcoz of the feedback by teachers, parents & librarians. I wasn’t happy with Qld Ed response & still not sure much has been done since this blew up 👇🏽
I’m told a directive was sent to regions to urgently check their shelves. But I haven’t heard that’s actually occurred. Besides it’s not just Qld, I’ve been contacted by ppl around Australia concerned how big the problem really is. How best should schools tackle it?
Weeding shelves should be a continuous job for librarians, but clearly it’s not happening & there’s no sense of urgency. I speak regularly with my kids librarian. We now have a good relationship & speak often. She said the momentum of our work was lost
Read 8 tweets
1 Dec
million things to do, but have to take 8 yo to OT at 1pm which shortens the day. A lot of therapy is during school hours. Some therapists will ONLY see kids during school hours. I get it. They say kids are to tired after school. True. But it’s hard to get work done.
Therapists can’t go to the school. We tried that. Some education procedures. Blah blah. Our boys see OT, Speech & Psychologist during school hours. We coordinate fortnightly otherwise we’d go crazy. They also have sport physiologist, equine therapy & literacy specialist
Our 8yo was also getting swimming lessons & doing great until she tried to put goggles on him. He’s now back at square one & wont get in pool. So we stop seeing her bcoz it stressed him out (sigh) oh & of course Paediatrician in the day too.
Read 4 tweets
30 Nov
Working as a Communications Expert I found myself again often in lonely positions. When I started in this field back in early 2000 there wasn’t a lot of First Nations’ Comms specialist. One person who was leading the way & supported me is @glendat45 who is part of @murrigellas
Who also have another 🔥 comms specialist & businesswoman @leesawatego who I’ve been fortunate to get to work alongside both of them now & gain so much from their knowledge in this field
It’s a difficult field to work in as you are constantly battling non-Indigenous ppl who think they know how to ‘speak to us’ who question constantly why material should be written in a certain way, who feel I am threatening their expertise as comms/social media/media ppl
Read 19 tweets

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