How the 1961 US Freedom Rides Inspired Aboriginal Activism and Protest in Australia

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The 1961 US Freedom Rides were an immense driving force within the African American community seeing as the participants— mere students who were part of an activist group called the Congress of Racial Equality (CoRE)— refused to give up on protesting for what they believed in even when being violently attacked by those who strongly opposed them. It is obvious that their perspiration and determination to achieve their goals would inspire many and, due to the ever increasing inequality and dehumanising behaviours directed towards Australian Aborigines during the same time period, inspiration was exactly what was needed to begin protests and activisms much like those conducted within America. Throughout the time period that followed the US Freedom rides, Australian Aborigines partook in their own activisms which included a Freedom ride that is believed to have been inspired by those that took place within America. The 1964 Australian Freedom Rides were conducted by Sydney University students who were a part of a group called Student Action for Aboriginals (SAFA), led by none other than Charles Perkins— a man who would be the first Australian Aboriginal University graduate and was, at the time, a passionate third year arts student when he was elected leader of the SAFA.— Despite the name, the freedom rides took place on the 12th of February in 1965, the 1964 title refers to when SAFA banded together to organise the rides and insure sufficient media coverage was had. The students’ aim was to draw attention to the poor health, education, and housing that the Aborigines had, to point out and deteriorate the social discrimination barriers that existed between the ‘whites’ and Aborigines, and to support and encourage Aborigines to resi... ... middle of paper ... ...able to showcase the great power that nonviolence could have on the world and how by using methods such as that one would be more successful than if one used violence. As Mahatma Gandhi once said “Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.” Works Cited http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_freedom_rides/ http://www.core-online.org/History/freedom%20rides.htm http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/history-culture/2011/07/how-aboriginal-activism-brought-about-change/ http://reconciliaction.org.au/nsw/education-kit/land-rights/ http://indigenousrights.net.au/section.asp?sID=33 http://www.environment.gov.au/node/34129 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/freedomriders/issues/victory-for-nonviolence

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