It’s like an alcoholics anonymous meeting — but for a different type of addiction.
Racists Anonymous is a movement making waves overseas for confronting racism head-on.
Now, a Māori theatre troupe is examining the phenomenon in a series of shows at Auckland’s Te Pou Theatre.
The actors in this show delve into their own biases to understand their characters, and they too are open about it.
"Am I racist?" actress Tuakoi Ohia said. "You know what, truthfully, I’ve had little thoughts in my head."
"I really think that we all are [racist]," actor Acacia O’Connor said.
She plays a sheltered, pregnant white girl who doesn’t know who the father of her baby is.
"He could be a white man or a brown man, and she’s genuinely concerned if she has a brown baby she won’t know how to love it," O’Connor said about her character.
Her character often butts heads with Elizabeth, who no longer wants to be white and would rather you call her Erihapeti.
Describing her character, Ohia said: "[Elizabeth] puts foundation on her skin that’s a bit too dark. She is competitive when it comes to other Māori and their knowledge, so she really, really tackles the other characters because she thinks she knows more, which is just crazy!"
The director, Tainui Tukiwaho, who played Billy T James in the 2011 film Billy, takes inspiration from the legendary entertainer.
"We can sit with my Pasifika family members, my Māori family members, my Asian family members. And if we can all have a laugh at the people who say those things, whose intention is to hurt us, then collectively we are powerful," Tukiwaho said.
The first step of Racists Anonymous is admitting we are powerless to our unconscious biases. The only requirement for audiences at this show, is a desire to stop being racist.
"Just because you have some racist tendencies that doesn’t necessarily make you a bad person. You need to investigate where those racist tendencies come from," Tukiwaho said.
The key to addressing those tendencies according to O’Connor, is to listen.
"We’ve lost so much, us Māori People. Now we want the fight as well. Don’t take the fight. Get angry, listen to us, stand behind, in support of us," she said.
"And don’t be afraid to laugh about things. It’s all good to laugh. And with humour, it really gives a clear message on racism," Ohia said.
SHARE ME