Time to unteach ‘race’
From beginning to end, Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a non-racial agreement, writes Dame Anne Salmond, but it has been recast as a partnership between races, and that has provoked racist reactions
In 2017, film director Taika Waititi released a video for the Human Rights Commission, ‘Give Nothing to Racism,’ mercilessly satirising everyday racist behaviour in New Zealand. The next year in an interview in the UK, he described New Zealand as ‘the best place on the planet,’ but added, ‘It’s as racist as f***.’
Most recently, Waititi, described as ‘New Zealand’s hottest cultural export,’ released a new video, ‘Unteach Racism’ for local teachers. He addresses his eight year old self, describing the racism he experienced as a child, reassuring young Taika that he has a brilliant future, and paying tribute to two of his teachers who ‘untaught’ him racism, while teaching him to believe in himself.
In many ways Waititi reminds me of Eruera Stirling, also from Te Whānau-a-Apanui, one of the great orators and tribal experts of his generation. Like Taika Waititi, Eruera ‘gave nothing to racism,’ holding fast to a whakapapa-inspired vision of the past and the future of Aotearoa.
Link to article: Anne Salmond: Time to Unteach 'Race' | Newsroom
