Sameerkankali - Sameer Kankali Ⓥ ☮

Truth.

On the morning of September 4, 1957, fifteen-year-old Dorothy Counts set out on a harrowing path toward Harding High, where-as the first African American to attend the all-white school – she was greeted by a jeering swarm of boys who spat, threw trash, and yelled epithets at her as she entered the building.

Charlotte Observer photographer Don Sturkey captured the ugly incident on film, and in the days that followed, the searing image appeared not just in the local paper but in newspapers around the world.

People everywhere were transfixed by the girl in the photograph who stood tall, her five-foot-ten-inch frame towering nobly above the mob that trailed her. There, in black and white, was evidence of the brutality of racism, a sinister force that had led children to torment another child while adults stood by. While the images display a lot of evils: prejudice, ignorance, racism, sexism, inequality, it also captures true strength, determination, courage and inspiration.

In Australia we imprison asylum seekers indefinitely, including women and children, without trial, in concentration camps where they are assaulted, raped and murdered.

Our politicians call then “illegals” and “economic migrants” and they are demonised for political capital amongst a lazy and misinformed electorate.

Its a joy and wonder to see even a small group like this one in Hobart come out and say “Not me, not on my watch, welcome refugees, welcome to Tasmanaia!”