Charles Perkins and the Austarlian Freedom Rides for Aboriginal Equality

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Charles Perkins and the Freedom Rides-

Charles Perkins was an independent working machine giving much for his people. Throughout the journey of his life, he had completed a variety of acts of major recognition and achievement despite the fact of being an aborigine.

Born in 1936, Alice Springs to an Arrente mother and a Kalkadoon father he was raised along with 11 brothers and sisters. Though not part of the Stolen Generation, he was removed from Alice Springs Telegraph Station Aboriginal Reserve to be transferred to St. Francis House at the age of 10, where he spent a majority of his childhood secluded from family. Perkins was initially educated at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Alice Spring before being transferred to St. Francis House in Adelaide. During his school-life, he had often suffered from racial discrimination from his peers and often looked down upon as being ‘second-class’ and inferior to others. However, it was during this time he discovered his latent skill and talent for soccer where he was taken overseas to England to play for leading amateur teams. During this time, he had honed his soccer skills and was respected in the soccer field. He tried out for top clubs and declined an offer from Manchester United. He returned to Australia in 1960.

                                                                                              Charles Perkins, 1936 - 2000

During that time, it was extremely hard for aboriginals to proceed for further education at an university. Not only were they racially discriminated against, they were often neglected and treated differently to other students, like they were aliens. Charles Perkins was one of these very few aboriginals to attend university, not only any university but the University of Sydney. On his return to Australia he was crowned the captain and coach of a soccer team in New South Wales. He later retired from professional soccer in 1965 to continue his education at University of Sydney from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. He was the first aboriginal to graduate from tertiary education in Australia.

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In the midst of 1965, a group of students embarked on a trip across western and coastal NSW towns, known as the freedom ride to bring attention to the unjust treatment against aboriginals in rural communities. Charles, at this time was a third year arts student at the University of Sydney who was elected the leader and president of the ‘Freedom Ride’. Charles contributed a major role to this event, by observing the way the aboriginals are treated he compiled a speech directed to 200 people attending the 1965 Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait ...

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