Stan Grant comes from the Wiradjuri people of New South Wales. Credit: ABC
A well-known Aboriginal Australian broadcaster has resigned from the flagship program after he said he was the target of racist abuse for remarks he made about King Charles's coronation.
Stan Grant said he received 'ruthless' racist vitriol after commenting on the brutal impact of British colonization on Aboriginals following the arrival of the First Fleet of settlers and convicts in 1788.
Mr Grant, a former correspondent for CNN and one of the most famous faces on Australian television, comes from the Wiradjuri people of New South Wales.
During Australian public broadcaster ABC's coverage of the coronation, Mr. Grant said the British crown represented «an invasion, a theft of our land and, in our case, a war of extermination.»
Last the comment was a reference to conflicts between white settlers and the Wiradjuri tribe, sometimes known as the Bathurst War, in New South Wales in the 1820s.
Complaints of impartiality
The comments prompted some viewers to file formal complaints about the tone and impartiality of ABC's coverage.
The Australian Monarchist League has accused a public broadcaster of not providing an «honest, balanced and respectful commentary» on the coronation. On Twitter, one viewer wrote: “Started watching ABC news about the coronation. They chatted for ages with Stan Grant about colonialism and racism.
Mr. Grant, who is ABC's international affairs analyst, announced on Friday that he is stepping down as host of ABC's Q&A discussion program.
He said that not only was he insulted by the media for his comments about colonization, but he also received no support from ABC management.
In a weekly column, he wrote: “After the coronation of the king, I saw how people in the media lied and distorted my words. They tried to portray me as filled with hate. They accused me of vilifying Australia. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
He said he was invited to take part in the coronation coverage to discuss the legacy of the British colonization of Australia. “I pointed out that the Crown represents an invasion and theft of our land. In the name of the Crown, my people were divided into missions and reserves. Police officers with the seal of the Crown took children from their families. Under the Crown, our people were slaughtered.”
Respect for the monarchists
He criticized «with love» and recalled how his Aboriginal grandfather fought in World War II for the British Empire and that he kept Shakespeare's works by his bed.
He said he respected the monarchists in Australia, but that he also wanted to «confront the darkness of colonization and empire.»
«I'm sorry some monarchists took offense at our coverage. It was never my intention,” he wrote.
The comments provoked a spate of racist slurs, he said, and his family was «regularly ridiculed or racially harassed» on social media. He said that he considered himself neither above criticism nor thin-skinned, but insults had become unbearable.
“Racism is a crime. Racism is violence. And I've had enough.»
He accused public broadcasters of not coming to his defense. “No ABC executive has publicly refuted lies written or said about me. I don't hold anyone responsible; it's an institutional failure.»
Mr. Grant said he was stepping away from his journalistic duties indefinitely. Justin Stevens, director of news for ABC, said in a statement that Grant had been subjected to «grotesque racist slurs, including threats to his safety,» for several months.
It has become «particularly dangerous» since he took part in the coverage of the coronation. Mr. Grant was invited «as a Wiradjuri man to discuss his own family's experience and the role of the monarchy in Australia in the context of Indigenous history.»
Mr Stevens said ABC «supports him and condemns the attacks him.»
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