Charles Perkins
Charles Perkins was essential in the changing rights and freedoms of Indigenous Australians in the period 1945 until the present. Charles Perkins is an Aboriginal activist who was involved in the Freedom Rides while he was a third year arts student at the University of Sydney and the president of SAFA, Student Action for Aborigines. Through his role leading the Freedom Rides, he helped to desegregate public facilities in country towns, improved housing conditions and made White Australia in city areas aware of the discrimination and racism present in country towns. This led to being involved in politics and had numerous roles within the government. Perkins was known as an activist involved in Aboriginal organisations and made
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Perkins was a university student at this time and became the president of the Student Action for Aborigines. By being the president of SAFA, he was able to organise a civil rights campaign of western and coastal New South Wales country towns in February 1965. This was also known as the Freedom Rides of Australia as it was based off another civil rights movement in the United States of America in 1961. Throughout these rides, Perkins and his group travelled to Moree on 19 February 1965. The town of Moree was known for their racial discrimination against Aboriginal Australians as there was a council law which forbids Indigenous Australians from entering the pools and baths situated there after school hours. It wasn’t only the pools that they were forbidden to enter, they also weren’t allowed to enter the picture theatre, footy oval and RSL. Therefore, the Freedom Riders needed to help the Aboriginals to improve their rights. They did this by preventing anyone from entering by blocking the front entrance. After they protested, Charles Perkins discussed these problems with the police, pool managers and the local council. This was a success as the Council Law “That persons appearing to have Aboriginal blood be excluded from the bathe” was revoked. After this event, Charles Perkins and the Freedom