Over A Thousand People Turned Up To Protest Indigenous Deaths In Custody On Saturday

Well over a thousand people rallied in Sydney on Saturday to protest against Indigenous Australian deaths in police custody on the 30th Anniversary of the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC).

According to Junkee’s social justice reporter, Millie Roberts, there were well over 1000 people at Sydney’s protest. Police at the event estimated around 1250.

Starting at 1PM at the steps of Sydney’s Town Hall, speakers included Greens MP David Shoebridge. MP Shoebridge, along with family members of those who have died in custody advocated for the removal of hanging points in prison cells.

“One of the critical recommendations from that royal commission was to remove all of the hanging points out of the jail cells across the country … there isn’t even a dedicated funded program to remove them,” stated Shoebridge.

Other speakers included, Aboriginal leader Aunty Shirley, speakers from Brothers Beyond Bars, with a final speech from actor, Mayne Wyatt. Earlier this week, Wyatt joined fellow Neighbours actor, Shareena Clanton in alleging racist treatment on the set of the series.

Addressing the marchers on Saturday, Wyatt said, ‘you sick of hearing about racism? I’m sick of fucking talking about it!”

‘You sick of hearing about racism? I’m sick of fucking talking about it.’ @meynewyatt #stopaboriginaldeathsincustody #aboriginallivesmatter pic.twitter.com/Q3dy6nhtvx

— Lauren Edwards (@laurenjane81) April 10, 2021

The Aboriginal Flag being flown at half mast for Prince Philip while Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and allies rally to end Blak deaths in custody is all you need to know about this country. #StopAboriginalDeathsinCustody pic.twitter.com/LIN2qXe3h6

— Nic Holas (@nicheholas) April 10, 2021

The Aboriginal flag was being flown at half-mast on Saturday, but not to stand in solidarity with the families of the 500 Indigenous peoples who have died in police custody since 1991. The flag was being flown at half-mast for Prince Phillip, a man who once asked Indigenous performer, Warren Clements, “do you still throw spears at each other?”

One of the protest’s organisers, Gumbaynggirr Dunghutti Bundjalung woman, Elizabeth Jarrett said of the attention around Prince Phillip’s death, “while we’re on that hype of knowing Prince Phillip is dead, do we know that there were five Aboriginal deaths in custody in the last five weeks?”

Dunghutti woman, Leetona Dungay, the mother of David Dungay, who was killed while being restrained by prison guards in 2015, also addressed crowds at Sydney Town Hall. “No more royal commissions, I want real justice,” she said. “The life of an Aboriginal man is worth something,”

The march to Djarrbarrgalli (The Domain) began at 2PM. Protestors marched, chanting “Too many coppers, not enough justice,”
“They say accident, we say murder,” and “no cops, no prisons, total abolitionist!” among others.

When they reached the Domain, attendees sat and held a minute’s silence to commemorate deaths in custody. After the silence, the families of some Indigenous people who have died in custody addressed the crowd, including the families and loved ones of Tane Chatfield (who died in 2017), David Dungay Jr (2015), Nathan Reynolds (who died in 2018), Eddie Murray (who was killed in custody in 1981).

Paul Silva, the nephew of David Dungay Jr,  gave an emotional speech at Djarrbarrgalli. “A death in custody doesn’t just impact the immediate family and community,” Silva said. “It impacts every Aboriginal person in Australia.”

Junkee reached out to the organisers of the Sydney protest for comment. Special thanks to Junkee’s social justice reporter, Millie Roberts for photos.

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