Hundreds of protestors in Sydney have called for the abolition of 'Harmony Day' in a push for truth-telling on racial discrimination and violence.

On Saturday, a march from Hyde Park to the Sydney Opera House brought together community members, grassroots organisations and activists to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (IDERD).

Led by First Nations activist organisation, the Blak Caucus, the protest drew hundreds of allies in a coordinated show of solidarity against racism and ongoing inequality.

The action also commemorated the Sharpeville Massacre, when South African police opened fire on unarmed protesters opposing apartheid pass laws on March 21st, 1960, killing 69 people and injuring hundreds more. The massacre exposed the brutality of racial segregation and led to recognition of the day now known around the world as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

But in Australia - only in Australia - this day has been observed as 'Harmony Day' since 1999.

Proud Gumbaynggirr, Dhungutti, and Bundjalung woman, Elizabeth Jarrett, said this renaming is an erasure of the truth, a denial of the Day's origins and the continued injustice faced by diverse communities.

"What is harmony if justice is silence, what is harmony if truth is denied? Harmony without accountability is just another way to make the system feel comfortable while others are still hurting," she said.

"How do we talk about harmony on stolen land? How do you talk about unity when First Nations people are still fighting to be heard, to be safe and to be treated with dignity in our own sovereign lands? How do you celebrate diversity while ignoring the systems that continue to oppress us all?

"Renaming this day doesn't change what it stands for. It doesn't erase racism, and it doesn't heal wounds, and it doesn't make it easier for anybody, but them, and that's the hypocrisy of so-called White Australia.

"Because the real work, the uncomfortable work, is still waiting. The truth is still here. The injustice is still here...We need a day that tells the truth and a day that demands change, a day that honours resistance and not replaces it."

Amao Leota Lu, Samoan fa'afafine performance artist and activist, also addressed the crowd, rejecting the framing of 'Harmony Day' as a celebration.

"My thoughts and reflections on this day sit on the everyday occurrence of racial violence, both systemic and political, in the everyday spaces we occupy," she said.

"There is a lot of shame in this, when the scales are constantly tipped against our black brothers and sisters, people of colour and queer and rainbow communities alike, our colonial laws and histories speak volumes to this."

She reminded the crowd that racial violence is "not accidental", but "systemic and deliberate", that 'Harmony Day' is a celebration that ignores the current reality of racial and queer discrimination in Australia.

"There is no celebration in this. There is no harmony in this," Ms Leota Lu said.

Proud Dunghutti justice advocate, Paul Silva, called for truth-telling and accountability, starting with the abolishment of the 'Harmony Day' label.

"I won't accept a label from an unlawful government occupying this land, Aboriginal land...we reject the label, we reject the performance from politicians, and we reject the idea of a slogan that replaces justice," he said.

"Today, we stand for truth, we stand for accountability. We stand for real change, not for something that fits into nearly every government campaign.

"We must continue to stand up, speak up and show up because we can not have harmony without justice, and we cannot sit back and pretend that there is harmony on these so-called lands as Australia. We must continue to resist."

The rallying cry was echoed by Senator Lidia Thorpe, who stood before the Sydney Opera House to address hundreds of protestors.

"We need to call for the abolition of Harmony Day. There is no harmony in this country unless you are white...Genocide is alive and well in this country," Senator Thorpe said.

"Today, Harmony Day, what a joke," she said. "You wonder why they call me a crazy black woman in the Parliament, colonisers' headquarters. I am angry. I am very angry about what is going on to my people, to my Muslim brothers and sisters."

Like Mr Silva, Senator Thorpe said she would continue to speak out against discrimination and injustice.

"I will not stop calling it out. I will not kneel to the fucking coloniser, and I don't care if it's the f***ing king of England. He is not my King."