“I’ve tasted the faintest bitter edge of racism”: Ash Barty admits to being racially abused
<p dir="ltr">Ash Barty has confessed that she’s been on the receiving end of “bitter racism” after finding out about her Indigenous heritage. </p>
<p dir="ltr">In her autobiography, <em>My Dream Time</em>, which will be published on November 2, Barty opens up about the moment she found out about her family’s past. </p>
<p dir="ltr">The former tennis player said it was a difficult moment when her father searched for the truth and eventually told Barty and her sister which then led to “vile racism”. </p>
<p dir="ltr">“I’ve seen glimpses and tasted the faintest bitter edge of racism” she wrote.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I’d win a Deadly Award but get vilified on line. I’d become a Tennis Australia First Nations Ambassador and then find some muppet calling my heritage into question.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">The three-time Grand Slam winner said there was still a lot of work and educated needed to address the importance of Indigenous Australians. </p>
<p dir="ltr">“There was no need for us to talk about that in the moment but it was certainly something that confused me a little bit as to why someone would criticise something that is so personal to me,” she told NewsCorp.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“Looking back now it’s all about the education and giving people the tools to understand others and appreciate what came before us.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Barty went on to reveal that her trip to Central Australia where she worked with First Nations children was when she was convinced of a connection with them. </p>
<p dir="ltr">“If anything it has just reassured to me that the path I want to go down in the future is to try and help First Nations youth around the country.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Eventually, Barty found out of her Indigenous heritage when her father Rob traced back his roots. </p>
<p dir="ltr">At 13 he was told by a cousin that there was Indigenous heritage in the family but his parents denied it, claiming their connection was only to Māoris in New Zealand. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Rob did not accept that and went on to trace back his family history where he found out that his great grandmother was an Indigenous Australian who married a white man. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Barty’s dad sat her and her sister down when she was just seven and told them the truth. </p>
<p dir="ltr">The family then went on to record their names with the Ngarigu Nation. </p>
<p dir="ltr">“It was not a conversation his parents could have with him,” she wrote.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“To his parents, Aboriginal ancestry was something to be ashamed of and not something he should be curious about.”</p>
<p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>
