Peta has been a valued member of the Evolve Communities team for 18 months, passionately supporting Allyship and cultural inclusion. In this blog, she shares her personal journey of joining the team by standing up for what’s right. A single act of Allyship not only restored a vital voice but also opened the door to an incredible opportunity. Read on to be inspired by her story of hope, action, and the power of community.
I, like many people, followed Aunty Munya’s TikTok account. I loved the videos around culture, language, and Aunty Munya’s openness to share. I resonated with the messaging around Allyship and the lessons on how to be a better one.
And then one day I noticed she hadn’t appeared on my “For You Page” for ages. When I searched for her account, it was a grey silhouette where the profile picture once was and where these positive videos of hope and culture once sat, was in big bold black writing “Account banned”. I was shocked.
I had heard about this happening all too often to First Nations content creators on TikTok. The unfortunate reality is that social media, while a powerful tool for connection and education, also comes with trolls and, with that, racism. It was deeply frustrating to see this happen to Aunty Munya and Carla, whose content was nothing but positive and hopeful.
I had recently connected with Aunty Munya on LinkedIn, so I thought I would go there to seek answers. Sure enough, she had made a post explaining that without any warning the account had been taken down and banned.
And without a thought or hesitation, I had to take action right away.
I went to my account and hit record. I created a video raising awareness of this incident and tagged TikTok and TikTok Australia directly. I pleaded to anyone who viewed my video, to ask the questions too. I only had a couple of thousands of followers then, but I have never doubted the power of people. I hit send and waited.
Within a couple of days, I saw a comment that I thought I’d never see. It was Aunty Munya letting me know she was back! I was elated.
Shortly after, the team at Evolve Communities reached out to me to thank me for the support and Allyship. To me, this was the bare minimum. I’ve seen similar situations where the voices of people from marginalised communities are silenced because they use their voices to challenge others to confront uncomfortable truths. Allyship, to me, is about using your privilege for good and to amplify those voices. I was raised to treat others the way I wanted to be treated and I see Allyship as an extension of that.
I’m a big believer that the universe works in the most serendipitous ways. I had lost a part-time job recently, due to an event being cancelled and I luckily had the “Open to Work” banner on my LinkedIn profile. Evolve Communities just happened to have an opening in their marketing department, which is the field I was looking to work in. The team had seen my act of Allyship firsthand and felt I was the perfect fit. I had already fallen in love with Evolve’s messaging. It was a no-brainer really.
Every day now feels like a dream. I have the privilege of sharing Aunty Munya and Carla’s incredible message of hope and Allyship while continuing to grow and learn so much. It’s a role that aligns perfectly with my values and passion for creating a more united and inclusive Australia.
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