What’s the harm in Harmony Day?

On 21 March 1960, a group of people embarked on a demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa where people were rallying against apartheid laws. Police opened fire and killed 69 people during this demonstration. 

In response, the United Nations’ General Assembly established a week of “solidarity with peoples struggling against racism and racial discrimination” to be observed each year from the 21st of March– naming this day as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. 

So why then in Australia do we instead celebrate Harmony Day and Harmony Week? 

Scott McDougall, Queensland’s Human Rights Commissioner explains, “Harmony Day was initiated by the Australian government in 1999 and has since become a week … born out of research commissioned in 1998 by then-immigration minister Philip Ruddock on what would be needed to run a successful anti-racism campaign.

"The research, released in 2011 under Freedom of Information laws, uncovered some stark truths about Australians’ perceptions of, and attitudes towards, racism. Nevertheless, the research cautioned the government not to use “anti-racism” as a message, as that would be divisive, and instead to focus on harmony and the importance of protecting it” (2021).

Due in part to the increased prominence and acceptance of anti-racism work like the Black Lives Matter movement, institutions and individuals are increasingly recognising the United Nations’ focus on anti-racism. However, the focus on happy, harmonious cross-cultural celebrations continues to dominate.  

Calling the Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination ‘Harmony Day’ is akin to putting a band aid over a broken limb – it doesn’t fix the problem.

Speaking with Associate Professor Christina Ho, from the Social and Political Sciences program at the University of Technology Sydney, she specifies “It reflects the celebratory approach that has long characterised Australian multiculturalism, where cultural diversity is most often recognised in the form of festivals and food. While some migrants welcome the opportunity to showcase their cultural traditions, this ‘feel good’ approach makes it difficult to raise more difficult issues such as police brutality, discrimination, or structural inequality.” 

According to the Australian government’s official website on Harmony Week, this week is about celebrating Australia as “one of the most successful multicultural countries in the world” and is “about inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians regardless of cultural or linguistic background, united by a set of core Australian values.” 

Encouraging harmony as a glue that binds our communities together is vital. However, in addressing harmony, there also needs to be institutional, societal, and individual recognition of the ways in which we aren’t harmonious to get to a place where we are. Associate Professor Christina Ho remarks: “If institutions view inclusion as organising a cultural performance or a multicultural morning tea, they are missing the opportunity to really understand the experiences of those who may be excluded, even by the institution’s own routine practices or policies.” 

When celebrating inclusiveness, we should also question and reflect on the conditions that enable inclusivity to function – are we inclusive of all differences or are we inclusive of only some “differences” that fit within the bounds of our socio-cultural comfort zones? This sense of fitting in detracts from a genuine sense of belonging wherein our whole authentic selves are welcomed.   

To start, we need to acknowledge the ongoing dispossession of Indigenous sovereignty. We need to acknowledge that the cruelty of terra nullius – declaring the land as belonging to no-one – continues to stunt how we can move together as a community. While terra nullius has been legally abolished, the legacy of this violence continues to frame how race relations are negotiated, understood and experienced in Australia.  

In the context of our settler colonial nation-state, failing to name racism is harmful as it denies an open conversation about what kinds of resources, support, labour and persistence that anti-racism work needs.  

Calling the Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination ‘Harmony Day’ is akin to putting a band aid over a broken limb – it doesn’t fix the problem. Instead, it gives the optics of fixing a problem but in such a way that fails to address the root causes of pain and illness – which means proper healing cannot eventuate. 

Using assets-based approaches can help empower us to move beyond performative acts of harmony. Starting with what we can do as individuals – identifying our strengths and what we need to learn more about – and mapping out who we need to support and listen to is important. Being honest with ourselves and our commitment to anti-racism is essential. 

Honesty begins by having the courage to address racism head-on. Saying the word “racism” and focusing on it doesn’t mean that racism will increase. That is not the problem. Using euphemisms to cover truths and undercut accountability worsens the situation; this continues to fracture how we can authentically attend to what we need to improve, what support we need and what we can offer, in order to thrive together.