America’s first black cardinal, Wilton Gregory, made history last year when he became the first Black American to be appointed a cardinal in the Catholic Church. On the way, he says he faced plenty of discrimination due to his skin colour. “I don’t know of any African American who hasn’t tasted the bitter cup of Read more
Everything from class streaming to racism, “sown throughout” the system, could be kicked out the school gate in a $42 million programme launched by Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis. The Minister launched Te Hurihanganui at Takapūwāhia Marae in Porirua – kicking off an anti-racism initiative for schools and communities, aiming to help Māori students. Davis Read more
I’m voting no on the End of Life Choice (EOLC) referendum. I have many concerns about this legislation, including around the technical aspects and operation of the law. But I’m also very concerned about its impact on the vulnerable and marginalised in our society. Here are my top four reasons. 1. It devalues and risks Read more
In April 2018, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern addressed the Paris Institute of Political Studies to talk about the impacts of climate change in the Pacific Islands and said: “We are a Pacific nation … New Zealand does not simply sit in the Pacific. We are the Pacific too, and we are doing our best to Read more
One of the country’s top scholars says he is considering leaving the University of Waikato over what he calls ongoing “systemic and casual racism.” Māori astronomer Professor Dr Rangi Matamua, who this year received the Prime Minister’s Science Communications Prize and has been a leading proponent of making Matariki a public holiday, told the Herald Read more
When Auckland went back into level three lockdown a month ago, many New Zealanders focused on the identity of the “South Auckland family” at the centre of the emerging cluster. I would have hoped that the team of five million would do their best to avoid conflating Covid-19 with racist stereotypes about South Auckland and Read more
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin has spoken out against recent incidents of racism in Ireland, decrying intolerance as well as narrow-minded and judgemental attitudes within Church communities. At Dublin’s Pro-Cathedral on Sunday, the Archbishop said racist intolerance is always “an affront to the dignity of those who are its objects.” He said the Church must Read more
In 2018 Unicef ranked New Zealand 33rd out of 38 countries in terms of educational equality and the Ministry of Education has said there is “consistent evidence that the education system has underserved Māori learners and whānau over an extended period”. When @Ngati_Frybread posed a question on their Instagram meme page asking Māori and Pasifika to Read more
An iwi leader says a glossy booklet promoting “racist propaganda” being dropped into Lower Hutt letterboxes is dangerous. Kura Moeahu, chairman of Te Runanganui o Te Atiawa and of the Waiwhetū Marae in Lower Hutt, was unsurprised the booklet To All New Zealanders: Are we being Conned by the Treaty Industry? was doing the rounds. Read more
Whether it is in the Business Insider, the Guardian, the Washington Post, Deutsche Welle, Time magazine or the CBC media, New Zealand has been widely lauded as the COVID-19 “success story.” On 8 June, the island nation announced that its last person known to be infected with COVID-19 has recovered. This means that (at that Read more