People often follow him in stores for suspected stealing, assume he'll cause trouble in public and speak down at him with degrading attitudes – all because of his skin colour.
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These are "everyday experiences" of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Elected Body chair Rod Little, who is taking part in the ACT Human Rights Commission's campaign against racism, "Diversity goes with our Territory".
Mr Little is a longtime passionate advocate for acceptance, inclusion and diversity.
"I don't understand why people have to be so prejudiced against people who are different," he said.
"So I'm very committed to breaking down those barriers and the negativity, and I'm on this journey with many others."
The Diversity goes with our Territory journey began early 2015 when ACT policing funded the Human Rights Commission anti-racism campaign, which will kick off through social media on November 16 – the United Nations International day for Tolerance.
Human rights and discrimination commissioner Dr Helen Watchirs was inspired by the famous Humans of New York Facebook page, where people interact and share their stories, but also hopes the campaign will tackle issues of racism in Canberra.
"We have found nightclubs in Canberra have refused people entry because of race, so part of this awareness is about people telling us what is happening so we can investigate," she said.
However, it's also about celebrating Canberra's "human rights culture", which Dr Watchirs believes is more prominent in the capital than in other cities due to being "better educated".
Another champion for the campaign is the Canberra Multicultural Community Forum chair Diane Abdel-Rahmen, who experienced discrimination recently when she was walking down the street and someone shouted "speak English" at her. She believes this behaviour is rare in Canberra, but it's still happening within a minority.
"We need to remind ourselves that we shouldn't just live in our own little world. We need to venture out and mix with the broader community," Ms Abdel-Rahmen said.
"The campaign is a reminder that multiculturalism is alive, and that the lovely mixture of the multicultural community is part of what makes Canberra great, and what makes Australia great."
Share the hashtag #DiversityGoesWithOurTerritory and tell your story from November 16 to get involved.
