Aborigines & Activism

Book excerpt: In a provocative reappraisal of the 1960s, Aborigines & Activism recontextualises the history of Aboriginal activism within wider international movements. Concurrent to anti-war protests, women's movements, burgeoning civil rights activism in the United States and the struggles of South Africa's anti-apartheid freedom righters, dramatic political changes took place in 'assimilated' Australia that challenged its status quo. From the early days of grassroots resistance through to Charles Perkins' 1965 Freedom Ride, the 1967 Referendum, Canberra's Tent Embassy and beyond, this is the story of the Great Southern Land's racial awakening - a time when Aborigines and their white supporters achieved paradigmatic shifts in the search for equality, justice and human dignity that still has powerful implications for 21st century Australia. This is an engaging study of the stories of racial awakening in Australia that marked the coming of the wind of change. Through rigorous research, the author shows how supporters of Indigenous Australians and their struggles for equality pushed Australia into the 60s literally and figuratively. The book also puts the Australian experience of the 60s into an international perspective, portrayed as unique but not in isolation.