Aboriginals Mourning Day Essay 2022

ABORIGINALS’ MOURNING DAY 1
ABORIGINALS’ MOURNING DAY
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ABORIGINALS’ MOURNING DAY 2
Aboriginals’ Mourning Day
Introduction
Aboriginals, Australia's indigenous people, commemorated Aboriginal Day of
Mourning to fight for their civic rights and welfare. The event collided with the celebration of
the white settlement known as Australia Day. On 26th January, 1938, the Aboriginal
Australians held a public event, to protest against mistreatment by the white men, who
invaded their land (Bollen and Brewster, 2018). This annual event commemorates the day the
indigenous Australians earned their rights as Australian citizens. It also marks a significant
milestone in activism movements worldwide.
The event held by the Aboriginals has since marked a significant milestone in terms
of activism among groups of people who desire change in their political, social, economic,
and cultural society. According to Misgav and Fenster (2018), this protest was purposely held
on the same day as the European's Australia Day, to signify the invasion and displacement of
Australia's indigenous inhabitants. The participants of the protest included the Aboriginal
people as well as non-indigenous supporters, who held the event in Sydney. Aboriginal Day
of Mourning marked an important day in history and is held annually to this day.
The Effort of the Event
Minority Parties
Jack Pattern and William Ferguson initiated the establishment of the Aborigines
Progressive Association (APA) (Kerin, 2016). APA was formed to fight for the rights of the
Aboriginals, a well as the Australian Aborigines League, also known as AAL. Both the APA
and the ALL leaders boycotted a series of celebrations of Australia Day and sent petitions to
the Government of Australia and the Government of the United Kingdom (Kerin, 2016).
However, their petitions were futile, and they got dismissed without any recognition.
As a result, they were compelled to be more organized in their political activities. They

ABORIGINALS’ MOURNING DAY 3
vividly planned for a severe petition that would not be ignored by both the media and the
government. The formation of minority groups today is legal, and the United Nations Charter
has derived principles that can help resolve issues between the states and the minority groups.
State roles are therefore declining, and the minority is rising to get their voices heard.
In most circumstances, people in minority groups do not have their freedom of
opinion. The Aboriginals, for example, aired out their concerns for decades and were ignored,
even by the media. It took constant compelling and drive that led them to resolutions. Today,
minority groups still exist and are protected by international bodies, and this increases the
possibility of resolving their calamities (Leonard, 2019).
Nevertheless, the states are still the primary lawmakers of their specific jurisdiction in
matters concerning human rights. Successful communal groups solve conflicts when a
dominant group threatens their capacity to develop either culturally, religiously, and in any
other form. In matters concerning discrimination based on race, communal contenders
struggle for equal enjoyment of rights compared to the majority group (Leonard, 2019). For
this reason, APA is significant in history and serves as a great influence on groups struggling
with citizenship rights and full political rights.
Future Direction
The Aboriginals' protests against the denial of their rights to education, citizenship,
among others, were significant to them, and it continues to be significant today. They
protested against racism, lack of acknowledgment, mistreatment, among others. The
Australian nation voted for them to have their fundamental human rights, and laws were
amended to fit this decision. Years later, the National Aborigines and Islanders Day
Observance Committee replaced the Day of Mourning, and the group still sought to increase
awareness of the Aboriginals (Fattal and Alon, 2018). Activism plays a significant role in

ABORIGINALS’ MOURNING DAY 4
ending challenging societal discrimination such as slavery, racism, denial of human rights,
among others.
Today, communal groups are formed to solve conflicts between majority groups and
groups that are not well represented. Margaret (2015), suggest that minority groups get
compelled by circumstances such as unequal treatment that displays others to have much
power over them. Cultural identities such as skin color and differences in language also
distinguish one group over the other. This discrimination also includes religious and socio-
cultural groups. Aboriginal Day of Mourning and other historical activism propelled minority
groups to seek the opportunity to be accepted and respected.
Activism and Call for Citizenship
Activism and Civil Rights
Only Aboriginals attended the Day of Mourning Congress in Sydney. The attendees,
about 100 Aboriginals, witnessed one of their major civil rights gatherings. The AAL and
APA aired out their concerns and appealed for the civil rights to the congress (Hoch, and
Abdurrahman, 2019). They demanded back their rights to own their land and properties that
were taken from them by the British when they invaded Australia. Australian citizens were
asked to vote on whether they supported the plea, and the majority of them agreed that the
Aboriginals had full rights of Australian citizenship and the benefits that come with it.
Consequently, activism is a form of democracy, a form of self-defense, and responsibility
with action.
Democracy is practiced by countries that grant their citizens the right to choose their
leaders. Activism encourages people to practice their democratic rights by airing out their
views on areas affecting them. Public demonstration of views is thereby encouraged, which
may assist in solving various conflicts that might arise. (Victoria, 2018) Observes that
activism encourages minority groups to make decisions and to publicly demand their rights

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without any form of war or threat to the community. The Aboriginals marched publicly and
protested against the Australian government peacefully. Display of a peaceful public pleading
challenges the idea that war is the only counter-discourse that could solve conflicts.
Furthermore, a group's solidarity contributes to successful protests and group empowerment.
Democracy, therefore, is polished through public activism, as displayed by the indigenous
Australians.
While some people suffer in their grief, activists choose to share their concerns
regularly. Self-defense is, therefore, one of the pillars of direct action that ensures minority
groups of their human and civil rights. The indigenous Australians refused to suffer in silence
and broke out to fight for their rights (Crawford, 2018). Today's minority groups use activists
to avoid being silent as well, and this form of peaceful self-defense has become more
acceptable. Because activism requires actionable demonstrations, it is widely known as
responsibility through ability.
Full Citizenship Rights
One of the manifestos of the political event held by the Aboriginals was their claim
for citizens' rights. They complained of 150 years of misery and mistreatment by the white
people ever since they invaded their land. Successful resolutions were met to amend the laws
concerning the edification and care of the Aboriginals, complete civilian prestige, and
impartiality contained by the municipal. During the 1990s, the regime increased the wages of
the Aboriginals, their welfare benefits, and other legislative rights (Ponti et al., 2018).
Citizenship protects people by giving them the right to have rights. Waal (2016)
argues the right to be a citizen of a particular state grants the right to enjoy all the benefits of
being that state's citizen. The indigenous Australians faced such circumstances, and they
managed to enjoy all the benefits of being Australian citizens after full citizenship.
Thousands of people have been denied citizenship in their areas of residency due to religious

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and socio-cultural differences, not to mention race (Ciuriak, 2017). Consequently, minority
populations suffer economically, politically, socially, and even religiously. Through
continuous activism, international measures have been implemented to solve this problem.
Conclusion
The Day of Mourning was a propellant for many future activists events and
movements. The Aboriginals received full citizenship, which increased their autonomy and
dignity. The protest achieved its purpose of attracting the media and the prime minister, but
more so, it serves as a great motivator to thousands of minority groups throughout history.
Activism is consequently viewed today as a form of democracy, self-defense, and
responsibility of minority groups. It is also a form of free and fair display of public opinion.
Activism therefore resolves conflicts of minority groups. Through activism, measures of
conflict resolution should be addressed to fight discrimination and to pursue the right to
acquire citizenship among the marginal groups.

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References
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