Indigenous presenter Narelda Jacobs vows to ‘educate’ Aussies on January 26

Indigenous presenter Narelda Jacobs urges citizens not to celebrate Australia Day on January 26.

January 26 marks the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet of British ships at Port Jackson, New South Wales, and the raising of the Great Britain flag at Sydney Cove by Governor Arthur Phillip.

For many indigenous Australians, this day is not a cause for celebration, but rather a reminder of the dispossession of their land, culture and people.

Narelda, of Aboriginal and Irish descent, said the daily telegraph on Sunday that many Australians are unaware of the history of colonialism and feel it is their responsibility to “educate” the country as to why the date should be changed.

“There is no way we can celebrate January 26, neither now nor in the future, because the impacts of colonization have lasted 230 years and will continue to last because it is intergenerational,” he said.

“The poverty we have in this country among First Nations people is absolutely heartbreaking, and yet half an hour later, you can go from extreme poverty to billionaires row. So that’s what January 26 represents to me: it was the beginning of that trauma for our people.’ She continued.

‘So, we must open the eyes of the rest of the population and educate them about the date change and that it is not a date to celebrate; then we will be a better country’.

The Studio 10 panelist also said she “felt like crying with joy” after Channel 10 bosses recently sent a now-infamous email to staff saying they could go to work instead of taking Australia Day off in 2023. .

Parent company Paramount ANZ’s chief content officer, Beverley McGarvey, and co-director Jarrod Villani referred to Australia Day only as ‘January 26’ in the memo.

The couple told staff it was “not a day of celebration” for indigenous peoples and said employees could decide whether they wanted to take the day off as a public holiday or work if they preferred.

It comes after Narelda sparked a heated debate on social media after she called on the monarchy to apologize for its colonization of First Nations people following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

His request was met with support from some progressive Australians, but also backlash from Britons who feel they don’t owe the First Nations an apology for the actions of their ancestors more than 200 years ago.

Others noted that Narelda is of Irish and English descent on her mother’s side, making her “as British as she is Indigenous”.

Narelda’s late father, Cedric, was an Indigenous man and member of the Stolen Generations, while her mother Margaret, who is white, immigrated to Australia from Northern Ireland with her family.