The recent racist attack on our community makes it clear that we are not safe, nor have we ever been.

On January 26, a community march in Boorloo/Perth that had been organised to mark Invasion Day was attacked by an assailant who threw a handmade bomb into the crowd. The throwing of the device, allegedly concealed in a sock and designed to explode upon impact, has led to a charge of an act of terror.

WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said there was evidence the man charged was self-radicalised and not only accessed "pro-white, male pro-white material online", but "that ideology is prevalent across his access to the internet."

The Commissioner further alleged that the incident "was a nationalist and racially motivated, attack ... targeting members of the Aboriginal community, First Nations people".

It is tempting to think of this as an individual, one-off event, but we need to remember that racist attacks such as this are not an aberration, and that white supremacist acts of terror are an endemic response to both local and global movements of justice and Blak resistance.

It is imperative that in our struggle for truth, justice and a healthy democracy that we never forget the brutal legacy of white supremacy and racism so that we are better able to diagnose its disease and eliminate it.

Bombings or attempted bombings by individuals and hate-fuelled groups are not new. In the US groups such as the KKK were synonymous with the Civil Rights Era of the 1950s and 60s, more specifically towards Martin Luther King's ministry of love and justice and the African American struggle in the South to end segregation and demand equality.

Unfortunately, the Trump MAGA crusade of our recent times has attempted to undo decades of domestic and foreign policies and initiatives that have helped shape America and other western countries such as Australia to become fairer, more just and racially and gender inclusive.

For example, Mr Trump, with a recorded history of misogyny, has publicly promoted extreme social unrest through anti-cohesion rhetoric and policy. Immediately upon re-election he led a spectacular and damming attack on Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives on the basis of false and nonsensical claims of reverse racism. This has had the effect of stirring up the old as well as inspiring a new white resistance to equality.

As such, racism and discrimination have been given permission to breathe openly in our 21st century like never before, giving way to new forms and new waves of violence towards Indigenous and Jewish peoples, Black Americans, migrants, LGBTQIA+ communities and many other religious and vulnerable minority groups around the world whose only crime is seeking safety and equality under the constitution.

The Australian man who was allegedly radicalised online with easily accessible white supremacist rhetoric, allegedly devised a weapon packed with ball bearings and screws as well as an explosive liquid and threw it into a densely packed crowd. It is painful to think what might have happened if the attacker hadn't failed, especially mere weeks after the massacre at Bondi.

These events are shocking, but perhaps the rise of such hatred should hold no surprise when an individual like Mr Trump, who holds the highest office and position in one of the world's most powerful nations, can broadcast so effectively unchecked sexist, racist and bigoted behaviour.

When we shrug off and respond as if the President of the United States was being facetious in a shared post on social media of the Obamas depicted as apes, as happened recently, you can be sure that liberal democracy is almost on the brink of extinction.

For vulnerable First Nations communities and other minority groups the signs are evidently clear, the mask and the gloves are off, we are not safe, nor have we ever been because racism and white supremacy is and has always been alive and well and now today it's so easily advertised and subscribed to thanks to Mr Trump and people like him.

A little over a week after the attempted Invasion Day attack, Senator Lidia Thorpe moved a motion in the Senate and noted that the federal government had a duty to equally protect all people from racism, discrimination, hate speech and violence.

In presenting the motion, Senator Thorpe called on parliament to commit to urgent action.

"It asks the parliament to say clearly to First Peoples, 'We hear you, we believe you, we recognise that racism and hatred directed at you are real and rising'," the Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung woman said.

Legal academic and Bibbulmun Noongar woman Dr Hannah McGlade described the attempted bombing as a "hate act".

"Imagine if this had detonated and killed innocent women, children, Elders on that day, how we would be feeling as a society," she implored.

During the height of the Civil Rights Era, and coinciding with non-violent demonstrations led by Martin Luther King, there were numerous bombings in the town of Birmingham, Alabama that were targeting African American homes and institutions. The attacks were overseen by staunch white supremacist and segregationist Eugene "Bull" O'Connor, the Commissioner of Public Safety, and they eventually earned the town the inglorious nickname "Bombingham".

The most searing reminder of these shameful and horrible events occurred on September 15,1963, when four little innocent African American girls were killed in the 116th Street Baptist Church bombing.

Fast forward 60 years and on January 26, 2026 at Perth's Invasion Day rally, Aboriginal children, women and Elders had a potentially lethal explosive device thrown at their feet. We got lucky that day, but may this shocking event remind us that history, regardless of the years of distance and how painful, shameful and unbearable it is to face, is never far away.

If we are to eliminate this very real and rising problem, we must first not be afraid to name it - and shame it - for what it is. In remembering those four precious little black girls, alongside awareness of our own clear and present danger, let us ensure that some history will not repeat.

Mervyn John Davis Jnr is a Dunghutti and Kamilaroi man, entrepreneur, and thought leader whose work bridges business success with systemic reform.