Freedom Ride (Australia)
The Freedom Ride went down in Australian history in 1965 as a major event for more human and civil rights . Students at the University of Sydney formed a political action group, Student Action for Aborigines (SAFA), which traveled to remote areas of the Australian state of New South Wales from February 12-26, 1965 , where Aborigines were discriminated against. They intended to protest against the prevailing racial segregation through non-violent actions.
With their protests and their name Freedom Ride , they borrowed from actions of the political movement Freedom Ride from 1964 in the USA .
Racial discrimination
In many small towns in northern New South Wales, Aboriginal people were prohibited from entering cafes, clubs and swimming pools. There were separate seating arrangements in theaters. The Aborigines could only shop in commercial stores, have drinks in hotels and were refused entry into clubs.
Charles Perkins (1936-2000), then one of two indigenous students at the University of Sydney, was elected spokesman for the SAFA. 35 students were involved in the action with a bus.
The students covered about 2,300 kilometers in the two weeks. First they found out in Wellington and Gulargambone about the discrimination and living conditions of the Aborigines who lived on the edge of Australian places. They were particularly interested in the situation of the Aborigines and their health care, housing and education.
Other places they went to protesting racial discrimination were Lismore , Bowraville and Kempsey . In Bowraville, the municipal theater was divided into black and white sectors.
In Moree , there was a violent confrontation with whites when they protested against the bathing ban for Aboriginal children in the municipal swimming pool and were evicted from the bath. After a protest at Walgett , the participants were evicted from the town, their bus was rammed three times by another vehicle and then fell into a ditch. A Sydney Morning Herald journalist documented the incident and made it public. This made the action publicly known worldwide.
At that time the students could not change the situation, but a broad public was informed of the discriminatory conditions through reports on radio, television and in newspapers.
Aftermath
In 2005, in the 40th year after, another Freedom Ride, modeled on the 1965 model, took place, visiting 13 Aboriginal communities in New South Wales. The ride at that time , however, was under the political theme of reconciliation , a debate about the reconciliation of Aborigines and whites. It was found that there had been positive changes in recent years, but that less good living conditions had also been found.
Another Freedom Ride took place in 2015 on the 50th anniversary with a bus that also included participants from 1965. It was stated that Australian society acknowledges tolerance and responsibility for a prosperous coexistence.
Web links
- Image of Charles Perkins with Aboriginal children in the Moree swimming pool
- Collaborating for Indigenous Rights: Freedom Ride, 1965 , National Museum of Australia
Individual evidence
- ↑ Commemorating the Freedom Ride . In: aiatsis.gov.au. Retrieved May 25, 2015
- ↑ Gary Stone: Violence explodes in rasist Town (English), dated 21 February 1965. In: indigenousrights.net.au. Retrieved May 25, 2015
- ↑ Ann Curthoys: The Freedom Ride - Its Significance Today (English), p. 7, from September 2, 2002. In: kooriweb.org. Retrieved May 25, 2015
- ↑ Daniel Lewis: A new generation take the freedom ride 2005 ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)
- ↑ Freedom Ride (English). In: sydney.edu.au. Retrieved May 25, 2015
