What is
Racial Dignity?

Racial dignity is the internal and external expression of humanisation, value, recognition and respect within personal, social, political, cultural and institutional levels, which affirm the worth of Blac/k people and other racially minoritised populations.

Dignity is not just the absence of disrespect, humiliation, and devaluation, it is also the presence of care, connection, freedom, and agency.  (Gatwiri, 2025)

Principles of Racial Dignity

  • 1. Humanisation

    Refers to the typology of ways of being seen, thought of and treated as a person. It is being afforded all the privileges of personhood which include the right to exist and the right to be loved, to belong, to be seen, heard and understood

  • 2. Whole sense of self

    A feeling of being proud of WHO you are, being “unapologetically” yourself,, being safe in WHO you are and knowing there is no social and cultural judgement associated with WHO you are and being allowed complexity in presentation of self

  • 3. Care

    To be dignified is to be cared for and to be cared for. This includes being supported to thrive, being seen as worthy of help, being extended kindness/softness, and having people who are invested in contributing to your physical and emotional wellbeing

  • 4. Connection

    Feeling you have qualities others can admire and relate to. Being “choosable”, being shown interest and curiosity, being invited to ‘be with others’ to participate and contribute, and feeling like you have a community of “your people” who “get you”

  • 5. Recognition

    Being recognised as a person, being commended for one’s contributions or excellence, being praised for the value one adds to others, being promoted and rewarded, being supported to lead, being credited for one’s’ ideas and being made positively visible

  • 6. Respect

    Being honoured (eg elders), being treated as equal human beings, being afforded the same opportunities as all others, being given the benefit of a doubt, being treated well regardless of background or status 

  • 7. Communal worth & value

    Being seen as a positive addition to community. Being invited to participate and seen as having something to give rather than just something to take. Having full community membership

  • 8. Positive regard

    Being able to SEE yourself positively represented in all parts of society. Having the narratives about you be accurate and complete. Being seen in a positive light and afforded the benefit of doubt

  • 9. Freedom & autonomy

    Having freedom to define yourself and choose one’s life’s path. Freedom to make mistakes and be afforded a second chance. Freedom from fear, harm, negation interactions and misrecognition.

  • 10. Choice & agency

    Having options and choice. Having a say in who you are, being self-determining and having a sense of responsibility for your life. Being allowed to live life on your own terms as long as it doesn’t endanger others

What participants described dignity as…

  • “I think racial dignity should allow you to hold all aspects of yourself….It allows me to demand for all the parts of me to be seen…That's a big thing. You shouldn't have to minimise one part to feel dignified, like what we were saying. People minimise parts of themselves to feel dignified. Yeah, I think if you feel you can never be African enough, people throw themselves into being Australian, and then they minimise parts of their Africanness… Racial dignity as a whole is having enough sense of selfhood and ownership when they step out, they are able to weather storms.”

    — Layla, South Australia

  • “I think racial dignity means that as a Black person or a person who belongs to any racialised group… it is feeling that wherever you go, you still feel that pride in yourself whether you are Black or White but racial dignity for a Black person is complex in a White country.

    — Mumbi, South Australia

  • “Being comfortable with who I am as a person. Also, so this is quite an interesting word because it's almost like a false word. I feel like people force you to be resilient, and it's okay not to be resilient. It's interesting because people are okay with being resilient, but they're not okay with being vulnerable….I could work at one place all year being a strong, resilient person, but the moment I voice an opinion, then I'll be questioned and challenged and perhaps treated differently. I guess, coming back to dignity, I feel for me it's being able to be brave enough to be vulnerable.”

    — Cali, Queensland

  • “Also, maybe another thing like in place of work to be allowed to speak, to express oneself, because I think for me, for the two years that I worked there, I loved it, I actually shared my feelings out. I feel that’s dignity if we are given the freedom to share and to ask"

    — CL, New South Wales

  • “Do you know Harry Potter? You know the Voldemort. The problem is, when he was born, he could not feel love because he was born under a love potion. The mom used a love potion. The thing is he did know what love was. Love is everything. It's friendship. It's loyalty. Not being alone. Love comes under an umbrella. He did know the most powerful magic there is. Dignity is to be loved, to be seen"

    — Simone, Queensland

  • “When I was giving my story… you see the way somebody listens to you. It's not just what they do, the physical stuff, but when you are talking to someone, you feel that this person is listening to you, the way they respond, the way they interact with you, exchange the conversation with you and even says what is in their heart. It means that that person is regarding you highly and is giving you some value. That’s [dignity]"

    — Lisa, New South Wales

  • “I’m thinking, oh, I think dignity is that extra thing. It's above just the basic needs and tolerance, in a way. Tolerance is just like, okay, you're here. It's fine. No one is against you but it's not that higher level of like, you are a person like me. Dignity feels solid… You have enough to give and, I think, enough to inspire and just feel you can create something more for yourself other than what is just happening now. "

    — Layla, South Australia

  • “Now I'm even learning about dignity in my own life. I think this is yet another story, an addition to all the other stories that I've told about people who have seen me—who see something about me and they are creative in the way that they engage with me and, it draws out things out of me."

    — Izzy, New South Wales

  • “When I think about racial dignity, I think it's the same thing that I was saying before; that whole attributing value, to me as a person, without all this evidence to prove that I'm able to do something but, then, just thinking the other person coming in and valuing that, just valuing you as a human being and giving you the room to explain yourself. giving you the room to define and tell and it—just giving you the permission to be, really.”

    — IZ, New South Wales

  • “I forgot I had a voice for a very long time. Now, with the help of therapy, I'm finding that voice again, and part of that is listening to my intuition. Now, my definition of dignity is being in my most authentic self and realizing that self-worth is whatever I decide it is."

    — Briony, Western Australia