Each year on 21 March, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed around the globe. This day has been sanctioned by the UN since 1966 and offers us an opportunity to reflect on the ways in which we can eliminate all forms of racism in our community. In Australia, the date is also combined with Harmony Day, which our students have been celebrating throughout the past week.

While Harmony Day promotes strategies for peaceably living in a diverse community, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination invites us to take affirmative action and to stamp out racism whenever we see or experience it. The message of the day ties in with our school values, which call on us to treat each other with respect, with integrity, and in the creation and maintenance of a safe environment for all.

Leviticus 19:34 says, ‘The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself’. Unfortunately, history has shown us time and time again that human beings use ethnicity to differentiate, alienate, and discriminate. Today, as we see the violence escalating in the war in Ukraine and hear cries for justice among many minority communities the world over, I am reminded of the works and words of Maya Angelou, the renowned author and activist. In her ‘Pledge to Rescue Our Youth’ (2006), Angelou offers a promise to which we, at Hume, are also committed:

We pledge ourselves and our resources to seek for you clean and well-furnished schools, safe and non-threatening streets, employment which makes use of your talents, but does not degrade your dignity.

Global events are well outside of our control. However, I am grateful for the staff and students at Hume for celebrating Harmony Day and ensuring that, within the community where we each play a part, we are actively working towards the elimination of any racial discrimination.

Penelope Monger – Deputy Principal