Inner West Council will tomorrow host a powerful line-up of performances at Marrickville Library Pavilion to recognise International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (IDERD).
While the day is commonly referred to as Harmony Day, Council is committed to celebrating 21 March as it was originally intended to allow and encourage honest and open conversations about racism.
“We recognise that racial discrimination is a blight on all societies and still needs to be counteracted in our nation too. We do that by elevating the voices of local citizens with lived experience of racism,” said Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne.
Tuesday night’s performances will be headlined by a spoken word and poetry event Our Voices, Our Stories – Not Silenced.
Inspired by the open mic theme “Call It What It Is”, this event will showcase people’s lived experiences of racial discrimination and is curated by renowned Inner West hip hop artist Kween G.
The free event will begin with a short documentary The Sharpeville Massacre – Standing up Against Racism which will tell the story of the origins of 21 March as the birth of IDERD.
Mayor Darcy Byrne will open the night, and speakers will include Addison Road Community Organisation CEO Rosana Barbero, Wiradjuri teenager and climate activist Ethan Lyons and Marwa Moeen.
The night will explore storytelling through food, film, dance, music, writing and speaking.
There will be live music from Nancy and Hilton Denis, a poignant film by Hawanatu Bangura titled I am black & beautiful and delicious South African cuisine by Mzanzi Fusion.
Council’s IDERD activities kicked off last week with a spoken word and writing workshop. In collaboration with Inner West libraries, the workshop was run by Word Travels director Miles Merrill and provided a learning platform for inspired Inner West creatives.
In his workshop – Make and Create, Spoken Word Writing Workshop – the founder of Australian Poetry Slam supported participants to write their story with self-acceptance, creativity, and inspiration. The feedback from the event was overwhelmingly positive:
‘I liked that it was non-judgemental and inclusive’
‘Hearing different voices, practical ideas’
‘Miles was the best teacher and inspired the audience to be creative’
Our Voices, Our Stories – Not Silenced
Date: Tuesday 21 March 2023
Time: 5:30 -8:30pm
Venue: Marrickville Library & Pavilion, 313 Marrickville Rd
