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Comparing The Contribution Of Charles Perkins To The Rights And Freedoms Of Aboriginal Australians

1123 Words5 Pages

Assess the contribution of Charles Perkins to the struggle for rights and freedoms of Aboriginal people in Australia.

Introduction -
Charles Perkins made major contributions to the rights and freedoms of Aboriginal people. In the past, Australia did not recognise the rights and freedoms of Aboriginal Australians due to European settlements, when they arrived in 1788, they did not understand the aboriginal culture. They looked for signs of land ownership and found none. They claimed Australia as ‘Terra Nullius’ (No Body lands). However, many individuals wished to change this. Charles Perkins was an activist. An activist is a person who advocates or supports actions in favour of or against one perspective on a controversial subject. In reality, …show more content…

The freedom ride was inspired by the united sites freedom ride. During this event, Charles Perkins and students visited numerous towns including Moree, Walgett, and Lismore…. Among the ways they protested was a local ban on Aboriginal children being segregated and not allowed to go into the Moree swimming pool. The source “ Aboriginal people were denied access to services like clubs, cinemas, shops, and restaurants. They were not counted as citizens even.” This tells us about the poor lifestyle and discrimination faced by aboriginal people. The fact that Charles Perkins organised the Freedom rides highlights his dedication to improving the poor living conditions faced by Aboriginal people and the racism that was rife in NSW country …show more content…

“The effective use of television brought racial discrimination in country towns to national attention,” This source tells us, Society’s view started to change from being racist to Aboriginal to accepting their culture as part of Australia. The impact of this was to help the success of the referendum which allowed Aboriginals to vote.” The most successful referendum in Australia’s history was in 1967 by the freedom ride”.This helps emphasise the vital role Charles Perkin had in the Freedom Ride. Despite their difficulties, the aboriginal people benefited from the outcome. Native people were included in the census after the referendum. The Freedom Ride and the following referendum showed the influence of young people's direct action in changing public debate on issues of social justice. It is obvious that this incident significantly changed Aboriginal people's rights and

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