Racism Experienced by African Students in Australian Educational Institutions

Towards Ubuntu anti-racism strategies

Yohanna Mequwanint from the Ethiopian Community Association in Victoria commenced as a Melbourne Social Equity Institute Community Fellow in 2021.  Working with Academic Mentor Dr Gerald Onsando from the School of Social and Political Sciences, Yohanna set out to examine the racialised experiences confronting young African Australians in Victorian schools.

The project applied principles of the African philosophy of Ubuntu to develop humanising anti-racism strategies to assist in ending experiences of racism for African students in Australian educational institutions. The Ubuntu anti-racism strategies recommended empowering African students through Ubuntu storytelling as an anti-racism counter narrative, encouraging involvement of members of family and community in educational matters relating to African students, and enacting bespoke Ubuntu anti-racism initiatives that acknowledge the historical constructions of racism in Australia, the permanence of racism in Australia, and the everyday presence of racism in the institutions.

A 28-page report on the project provides the following recommendations:

  1. African students in Australian educational institutions must be provided with opportunities and safe environments where they can articulate and express their own stories through, for example, forming active students’ groups that catered for their personal, social, and educational wellbeing. Apart from affirming the students’ sense of identity and belonging, such Ubuntu storytelling opportunities can be used as counter narratives against the negative racialised mainstream storylines about Africans, including African students in Australian educational institutions.
  2. Students and educators who perpetrated racism against African students in Australian educational institutions lacked Ubuntu, yet having respectful relationships is a key principle in the African philosophy of Ubuntu. By way of having respectful relationships, the practise of Ubuntu can therefore be enacted as an anti-racism strategy where students and educators are obligated to engage respectfully with the African students in Australian educational institutions.
  3. Australian educational institutions need to adapt culturally responsive ways of encouraging family and the community to be meaningfully involved in educational matters affecting African students. The African philosophy of Ubuntu encourages family connectedness and community engagement; from an Ubuntu perspective therefore, family and community could offer African students in Australian educational institutions the moral support needed against experiences of racism as well as assist in identifying and eliminating racialised educational inequalities affecting the students.
  4. Anti-racism initiatives focusing particularly on supporting African students must be enacted in Australian educational institutions. The African philosophy of Ubuntu can offer institutional policy framework to address challenges of racism in Australian educational institutions, starting with an acknowledgement of the historical constructions of racism in Australia, the permanence of racism in Australia, and the everyday presence of racism in the institutions.

Report Cover - Racism experienced by African students

Download the Report (PDF)

This project was supported by the  African Research and Engagement in Australia Initiative (AREiA).

Researchers

Image for Yohanna Mequwanint

Yohanna Mequwanint

Yohanna Mequwanint
Community Fellow
Ethiopian Community Association in Victoria

Image for Gerald Onsando

Gerald Onsando

Dr Gerald Onsando
Academic Mentor
School of Social and Political Sciences