Point Cook’s Eli Muse wants to help the community understand that most African-Australians are just like everyone else.
To do this, Mr Muse is planning to host monthly meetings in Point Cook, to bring together residents from all cultures to talk.
“The objective is all about social cohesion among our cultures here in Point Cook and to create a bond between cultures,” he said.
Mr Muse said he came up with the idea after seeing a Facebook post in which a father said that his son was attacked by some Sudanese men.
Mr Muse said he felt “very sorry” for the family, but was shocked to see that many comments responding to the post were racist and violent.
“If you consider racism as a lack of understanding – from what I see, basically there is a lack of understanding between cultures,” Mr Muse said.
He said this had made him want to “step up” and take action at a grassroots level.
“Let people understand violence is not our culture, let them actually understand our culture – we have so much in common, just the colour of our skins is different,” he said.
“Let the weight of the law apply to criminals, let’s not associate it with a particular culture.”
Mr Muse said many people from Point Cook, including the Sudanese community, had contacted him about becoming involved in the monthly meetings.
He said he hoped to organise the first meeting this month.
Mr Muse invited anyone interested in helping out to get in touch through www.facebook.com/kulturehive/
