'Peaceful protests don't work!' Indigenous actor is overcome with emotion during racism discussion before delivering a powerful monologue about being black in Australia
- Aboriginal actor/writer Meyne Wyatt had powerful contribution to Q&A debate
- Comes as the Black Lives Matter movement gains momentum in Australia
- Emotions boiled over as Wyatt called for end to Aboriginal deaths in custody
- Outspoken actor also opened up about his struggles of being indigenous
An Aboriginal actor stole the show and won hearts of viewers across Australia in a powerful and emotionally-charged episode of Q&A.
Meyne Wyatt appeared on Monday night's episode as the Black Lives Matter movement gains momentum in Australia and around the globe, almost two weeks after the death of George Floyd in the US.
Emotions boiled over on the ABC program as audience member Leetona Dungay recalled the death of her son David, 26, while in custody at Long Bay Jail in December 2015.
'Just like George Floyd, David was pushed down into the ground by heavy officers. David cried out ''I can't breathe'' many times in the space of his last nine minutes,' she said.
Indigenous actor actor Meyne Wyatt made a powerful and often emotion-fuelled contribution to the debate on ABC's Q&A on Monday night
Ms Dungay's plea to the panel to demand charges be laid over her son's death sparked an emotional response from Wyatt, who is the same age as her son when he died.
It comes three days after a 40-year-old Aboriginal man died after he collapsed at a medium security prison in Western Australia.
'It's still happening right now, to this day. Last Friday, a brother boy died in Western Australia. This is - we're still talking about it now. It's a denial of what's happening right now,' Wyatt began.
'These institutions are killing us. And it's just the continuation. The whole time, since 1770. It's the same thing. That's what it is.
'We're not asking. We're demanding. We're demanding justice. And those protests in America - they're not protests, they're demanding it. And this is what's happening.
'There are riots and people are talking about order. Who cares about order if there's no justice? We want justice. I'm sick of talking about being in order - you know what? It doesn't work. Being peaceful - peaceful protests - don't work.'
Meyne Wyatt was among the tens of thousands of Australians who attended a Black Matter rally on Saturday. Pictured are police spraying protesters with pepper spray at Sydney's Central Station after the rally
Wyatt later recalled how he was first searched by police at age 10 or 11 and hasn't had a lot of trust for authority since.
'I was terrified. I was terrified. It becomes fear, anger. When I see things around the world and I see my brother boys in my own country - how do you think I'm going to feel? I'm going to be scared from the get-go,' he said.
Wyatt was among tens of thousands of Australians who took to the streets for the Black Lives Matter mass protests on Saturday.
He admitted his lawyer's number was written on his arm in permanent marker when the protests were originally deemed illegal before the court ruling was overturned at the 11th hour.
'Who cares about the pandemic? The pandemic is Indigenous lives are dying. Black people are dying,' Wyatt said.
'It's been happening for thousands of years. That's what - that's the pandemic. That's why people are marching. That is the reason. It's because you can contract it from social distancing.'
'That's why people are out there. That's why we're angry. And we're sick of it. We're tired of it. I'm tired of it. I don't know how else to put it.'
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'We're not asking. We're demanding. We're demanding justice,' a fired up Meyne Wyatt said
The program ended with as much emotion as it began as Wyatt delivered a powerful four-minute monologue from his play City of Gold about the struggles of being indigenous in Australia.
'Sometimes I want to be seen for my talent, not my race. I hate being part of some diversity angle,' he said.
'It's not your fault you have white skin, but you do benefit from it. You can be OK. I have to be exceptional. I mess up, I'm done. There's no path back for me. There's no road to redemption. Being black and successful comes at a cost.'
The monologue ended with Wyatt calling for the end of deaths of Aboriginal inmates in custody.
'Black deaths in custody - that s**t needs to stop. Never trade your authenticity for approval. Be crazy. Take a risk. Offend your family. Call them out,' he said.
'Silence is violence. Complacency is complicit. I don't want to be quiet. I don't want to be humble. I don't want to sit down!'
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