Members of the Victorian Aboriginal community say they have been left feeling unsafe after a photo of an Aboriginal baby doll with what appears to be a noose around its neck surfaced on Facebook today.
The photo was taken by Shannon Hood out front of the Aborigines Advancement League (AAL) on February 8 this year - 10 days after Kerri-Anne Kennerley's now notorious segment on Studio 10.
Mr Hood had been taking his kids to view a mural painted by his father and oldest brother when he saw the doll near the gates of the AAL and at first it was a toy one of his children had dropped.
"I walked over for a closer inspection and I noticed a noose around its neck and everything like that," Mr Hood told NITV.
"I already had my camera out taking pictures of the murals and stuff, so I took a quick snap of the doll and grabbed the kids and ushered them away from the area so the kids wouldn't see it."
He then informed the caretaker of the Aborigines Advancement League and returned home.
Mr Hood said he didn't initially post the photo to Facebook because the incident had "really upset" him.
However, he said he felt compelled to share the image following Kerri-Anne Kennerley's Studio 10 appearance from Alice Springs yesterday.
"I felt a bit disappointed by it and reading some of the comments by mainstream Australians saying 'give her a break' or 'she did well' or 'get over it' and all of this sort of stuff, I just thought nah I'm going to post this picture," Mr Hood said.
"The picture upset me a lot, and I knew if I posted in on Facebook it would upset a lot of other Aboriginal people. I wasn't going to share it, it's just that I had seen all of the typical racists backing up racists."
After posting the image on his own Facebook page, the photo rapidly circulated among the Victorian Aboriginal community.
Tarneen Onus-Williams posted the photo to their own Twitter account, and was soon inundated with support from the wider Aboriginal community.
“A community member found this black baby with a rope around its neck at the front of the Aboriginal Advancement League where we have our local childcare centre. White supremacy is alive and they are condoning the killing of our children with this symbolism,” they wrote.
Lyn Morgain tweeted she believes more education on racism and white supremacy was necessary in preventing incidents such as these.
"The sooner there is widespread acknowledgement that white supremacy is alive and well and hurting our community the better. This is outrageous. We are not powerless there is much we could be doing to address and counter racism," Ms Morgain wrote.
Allies of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were equally outraged and also wrote messages of support.
"I can't even express the deep sadness that I feel for the people who had to find & experience this horrendous racist act. I send healing thoughts to the whole community who have been affected by this despicable act. I hope that support is available for the community," Jill Smith tweeted.
The Aborigines Advancement League was not available for comment, and it is unclear whether or not Victoria Police had been contacted regarding the incident.
