Reverberations from the killing of 17-year-old African-American Trayvon Martin three months ago continue. The unarmed Martin was shot by George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old Hispanic-American and community watch coordinator for a 'gated' community in Sanford, Florida, who perceived Martin to be acting suspiciously.
The police charged Zimmerman with murder in the second degree but only after enduring significant media and political pressure. Much of the media scrutiny has emphasised race and violence, fear and prejudice. It has brought into light and public discussion the topic of The Talk.
I had never heard of The Talk before. But, in the weeks following Martin's death, it was out there on the airwaves. The Talk is what African American parents give their children when they become old enough to step out into the world and take the risks that being seen in public can create. The Talk sets out guidelines for behaviour, especially for young males. It seeks to protect them from what their parents believe is a very dangerous world.
What makes The Talk different from other conversations that many parents have with their teenage children is that it is based on race, skin colour and fear. It belongs to an oral tradition where people who have experienced racially-based discrimination and violence teach their young to be aware and cautious when they are in public.
It is based on the premise that one is likely to be judged by the colour of one's skin, and that such judgements can lead to violence, imprisonment and even death.
The Talk varies from family to family but can include rules such as: 'Never leave a store without a shopping bag', 'Never loiter outside, anywhere', 'Never go anywhere alone' (but travelling in a group can also be dangerous), 'Never talk back to the police, and, if you are talking with them, never reach into your pocket'. And, most confronting of all, 'If you go to enter a lift and there is a white woman there by herself, wait for the next one'.
Recently I've been asking some of my Aboriginal friends if they experienced The Talk when they were young and whether they pass it on to their children. These conversations have awakened me to a greater awareness of how some of my friends see and experience society today quite differently from how I experience it.
They do believe that they are perceived and judged by the colour of their skin and the manner of their appearance. They are keenly aware that this can make their children vulnerable and open to being accused, hurt or arrested. Their response is an Australian version of The Talk.
These conversations pose a particular context and challenge during this time of National Reconciliation Week. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents can perceive Australian society to be much more hostile and dangerous than I and many other white Australians might imagine or experience it to be.
Not only are parents and children affected, but all of society as well.
While the issue seems to be about race and colour, it is most deeply about fear. It is about the fear that surfaces when people encounter others with a skin colour that is different, and darker, than their own.
While I believe we are a far more tolerant Australian society than we were decades ago, I do not believe this fear has fully left us. While meeting and engaging people of different races is something now quite normal for most Australians, some fears can linger.
That there might exist an Australian version of The Talk is a reminder that as a society we still have much to address if national reconciliation is to be achieved. We need to identify and allay those deeper fears. We need other and more hopeful Australian versions of The Talk.
Fr Brian McCoy SJ is a senior research fellow in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health, La Trobe University. He is co-author of Take Off Your Shoes, Walk on the Ground: The journey towards reconciliation in Australia, published by the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council to mark the fourth anniversary of the National Apology.