The City of Sydney is hosting a photographic exhibition in Redfern to mark the anniversary of the Freedom Ride.
60 years ago a protest bus ride around NSW exposed systemic racism against Aboriginal people. Influenced by the Freedom Rides and civil rights movement in the United States, 29 students including Arrente/Kalkadoon man Charles Perkins set off on a bus tour from the University of Sydney on the 12th of February, 1965.
Taking the influential movement to 16 regional towns in 15 days, the tour confronted the overt racism experienced by Aboriginal peoples including segregation and exclusion.
In the face of fierce opposition - including the bus being run off the road by angry locals in Walgett - the movement inspired Indigenous and non-Indigenous activists and advocates across the country.
The new exhibition honouring the ride features historic photographs and contemporary portraits of people who lived in the towns the bus visited.
"When I was 13, I watched the bus roll down the mission," said Uncle Dan Munro.
"The white students on the bus along with Charlie came down and asked some of the parents on the mission if they could take some of us kids to the pool. Some parents were scared to let their kids go, but others were OK after they explained what they were doing."
"This was the first time I saw white people stand up against the racism we lived with every day."
To acknowledge the anniversary a morning tea hosted by the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council was held at Sydney Town Hall.
Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore AO said that the Freedom Ride sparked national and international debate for years about the discrimination and injustices faced by Aboriginal people - hence it is vital that the advocacy and support the exhibition receives now is just as important.
"The Freedom Ride is now widely recognised as one of Australia's most significant civil rights protests," she said.
"While the bus was on the road for a little more than two weeks, the Freedom Ride sparked national and international debate for years about the discrimination and injustices faced by Aboriginal peoples"
"The protest had a lasting impact in the regional communities the bus visited and influenced the civil rights and self-determination movement in Redfern in the 1970s. Our exhibition is another way to mark the legacy and impact of the Freedom Ride, 60 years on."
Exhibition details:
On the Road to Justice: Remembering the Freedom Ride
119 Redfern Street, Redfern
10am – 4pm weekdays, Thursday 13 February to Thursday 13 March
Free entry
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