Being a black reporter in Australia can be challenging.

I've dealt with my fair share of racism on the road: I've been mistaken for criminals while covering court, I've been asked how to pronounce African names and I've been called "darky" by someone I was interviewing.

I've also reported on racist incidents and hate crimes.

But the week leading up to the Black Lives Matter protests across Australia was by far the toughest period of my seven-year career — and perhaps my life.

If I was to describe what racism feels like, I would say it's akin to a kick in the guts.

It's hard to think of a lower, more humiliating feeling.

Every black person has experienced this feeling.

You get to a point where you think: "Hey, people don't judge me for the colour of my skin."

Then bang! Someone calls you a name or typecasts you and that all comes crashing down.

Two shocking incidents, captured on video and gone viral, brought this home to black people everywhere.

On May 25, images of a white Minneapolis police officer kneeling on a helpless black man's neck for more than eight minutes — ultimately leading to George Floyd's death — were beamed around the world.

Then Amy Cooper, a white finance worker in New York, called the police on a black birdwatcher who had simply asked her to put her dog on a leash.

Christian Cooper (no relation), the birdwatcher, later told the New York Times:"There are certain dark societal impulses that she, as a white woman facing a conflict with a black man, that she thought she could marshal to her advantage and she went there."

So, by the end of May we weren't feeling a kick in the guts, it was like copping a cricket bat to the midriff and a slap in the face all in one.

The Black Lives Matter movement is now seven years old but when people of colour see videos like those, we can't help but think nothing has really changed.

The ensuing violence did not surprise me at all, people are angry.

Personally, I don't think I'd ever felt worse — it's sadness, humiliation, dejection and a little anger as well.

As it looked more and more like Australian activists' groups would be holding their own rallies, I instantly felt conflicted about covering one.

Whether I believe in the Black Lives Matter movement or not, I have a lived experience of racism and of course I want it to end — it bloody sucks!

When I saw that I was rostered on to cover last weekend's Melbourne rally I became very nervous, I was struggling to sleep.

I wasn't worried that I would write a blatantly biased story in open support of the protestors, it was because of how distressed I felt about the whole issue.

I thought hearing more stories of racism and injustice aired at the rally would be too much for me to handle.

My mind changed two days before the protest when I saw a black CNN reporter do a live cross into Sydney's Nine news.

Anchor Peter Overton asked when she thought the violence would end and she quipped, "there's no end in sight because there is no end in sight to this racism".

It resonated with me.

Constantly seeing white people report on nuanced issues of race is exhausting.

It's not that white journalists can't do a great job, they can, I just don't think they can bring as comprehensive an understanding.

I explain it to people like this: Australia's best court reporter could probably write an excellent sports story if they had to, but they wouldn't be a news director's first choice to cover an AFL grand final.

It also exposes a glaring lack of diversity in news coverage across the board, although the ABC is trying to address this with a Diversity Action Plan for its workforce and content to better reflect the entire Australian community.

The supervising producer on the day reassured me it was my choice to cover the story or ask for it to be assigned to another reporter, a mentor offered emotional support and our deputy news editor advised on how to stay safe if things got out of hand.

The protest went ahead, thankfully it was peaceful.

As it unfolded, I was in "journalist mode", gathering information, listening to the speeches to pick out grabs, looking at the signs and faces in the crowd to work in the best visual elements of my story.

My focus had shifted from how I felt personally to how I would produce the best news story.

A live cross into the 7pm News reported on the fines that would be issued to the organisers for holding the protest in defiance of social distancing rules.

Afterwards, people of colour and white people reached out to me on social media and thanked me for my reporting. I've covered a few protests and that's never happened before.

A person I'd never met before said: "Thanks for your coverage, you're out there representing us, so thank you!"

I can't help but think it was because it was refreshing to see a black face report on black issues.

My mum watched it from home and texted me: "Thank you for being a young black man in the world and country that sometimes doesn't see or understand you and not letting that stop you from being who you are.

"Today isn't the first day you've had to represent, you have to every day, it can be tiring — all you can do is shine."

Elias Clure is a journalist in the ABC Victorian newsroom of African-American heritage who has lived in Australia for 26 years.