Sydney Opera House Vows to 'Root Out' Systemic Racism Following Allegations

Sydney Opera House chief executive Louise Herron has vowed to "root out" any systemic racism after the organization was riddled with allegations, including an incidence of blackface, earlier this year, ABC reports.

A group of former employees at the Opera House came forward earlier this year about issues of systemic racism. They also shed light on a story wherein a man wore blackface at a Sydney Opera House staff trivia night in 2016 until a manager asked him to remove it. The group released a statement expressing their concerns, and calling on management to address the issues.

The group claimed that the Opera House was a culturally unsafe and unequal workplace, that security racially profiled members of the public, and that there was a lack of culturally diverse staff in leadership positions.

"It is very important that we understand how systemic racism is manifested here and what we need to do to overcome it," Herron wrote to her senior leadership team in March.

"This is an area of deep feeling and if some people feel that there is systemic racism then it is something that we must root out," she said. "It's certainly nothing conscious, and certainly all we're doing ... is to ensure that there is not systemic racism at the Opera House."

Read more on ABC.