Black Lives Matter and Black Deaths in Custody

Indigenous Australians are among the most incarcerated people on Earth. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders make up 2% of all Australians, yet constitute more than a quarter of the nation's prison population. Over-representation in the criminal justice system by Indigenous men, women and young people is a persistent and growing problem. What are the reasons for these high imprisonment rates; and what reforms are being proposed to reduce Indigenous people's contact with the criminal justice system? Are 'tough on crime' policies flouting deaths in custody recommendations and further entrenching Indigenous disadvantage before the law? After the recent Northern Territory Royal Commission, prompted by the exposure of shocking abuses, has anything changed in relation to youth detention? This book examines the latest research and statistics on Indigenous imprisonment, and reviews progress on addressing Aboriginal deaths in custody recommendations and reforming the detention of young Indigenous people. How can governments reduce incarceration and commit to working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to implement overdue interventions? What will it take to unlock the problems of Indigenous inequality and over-representation in the criminal justice system? (less)

This dynamic collection of poetry is the inaugural winner of the David Uniapon Award for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers. Graeme Dixon's ballards speak out on comtemporary and controversial issues, from Black deaths in custody to the struggles of single mothers. Contrasted with these are poems of spirited humour and sharp satire. In Holocaust Island a powerful new voice emerges from a history of displacement.

This book considers institutional racism as a problem that exists within modern societies. Its roots lie with the transatlantic slave trade and slavery and the solution involves ridding society of the problem. It is argued here that, first, there needs to be an acceptance of its existence, then developing the tools needed to deal with it and, finally, to implement those tools so that institutional racism can be permanently removed from society. The book has four themes: the first considers the nature of institutional racism, the second theme looks at instances of institutional racism through matters such as deaths in custody and skin lightening, the third considers the concept of reparations and the final area looks at the development of social movements as a way of pushing institutional racism up the political agenda. The development of a social movement is part of a social discourse which would, for example, push mentoring as a form of reparations. There is a need for more research on the manifestations of institutional racism and this book is part of that discourse. It is argued that the legacy of the slave trade and slavery is continuing and contemporary through the presence of institutional racism in society. This problem has not been addressed through legislation and policies devised to combat racial discrimination. Institutional racism needs to be understood as being located in the processes and procedures of societal institutions.