What was the Black Power Movement in Australia - Literature review Example

What was the Black Power Movement in Australia, and what was its inspirations and historical significance? Student’s name: Course: Institution affiliation: Date: AUSTRALIAN (BPM) The black power management movement came into existence within Australia in the 1960s. It was spearheaded by an organized network comprising of three little groups of youthful, Aboriginal activists situated in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. By recognizing strategies of activism that caught enough thoughtfulness regarding opposing the white scope and bringing together peers and associates who were prepared to see a change in the daily life of Aboriginal individuals, these compelling pioneers set the tone for Aboriginal political and social activism most essentially in the vicinity of 1968 and 1972. Historically the aboriginal Australian communities were fragmented and most of the natives and activists were suffering. The movement brought change in relation to how the aboriginal people viewed themselves and identified themselves with oppressed and abused individuals globally for them to be in opposition to define their final destiny. One of the major manifestations of the movement includes the message of aboriginal pride and the recovery of the aboriginal performance of arts. Some of the manifestations of the movement are still in existence up to date and there include aboriginal legal and medical services as good examples of the efforts of the black power movement. Despite the fact that black power movement did not succeed in dominating the domestic politics, it did create and change a good number of the aboriginal commentators and political leaders. Black Power Movement as indicated by McGuiness in his book can be said to have originated from a group of people who were historically and politically marginalized and disempowered (McGuiness, 1972). The urge within the people to have the opportunity to address and manage their own affairs independently gave rise to the Black Power Movement. One of the inspirations of the Black Power Movement was to pass the message referred to as ethnic aboriginal empowerment by offering the native Australians ta a number of avenues to venture with the aim to acquire greater mandate in managing their own communities. Generally, the movement under the control of its activists it was focused on transforming the psychological, organizational and political arrangement in the urban newly established aboriginal neighborhoods. The movement did not only concentrate about the welfare of aboriginal individuals in urban areas only but also those in reserves, in mission and in the rural areas. By the beginning of the year 1968 the developing groups of individuals who can be said to be political scholars and thinkers hailing from Brisbane, Redfern and Melbourne, came into contact and started to make a bigger system with the intent to bolster each other (Foley,2009). The groups of several of activists from both Brisbane and Melbourne started to visit Sydney developing solid relationships with the Kooris there in the wake of meeting at an FCAATSI meeting in 1968 (Turner, 1975). At the gathering, various activists met, some of them being Kath Walker, her child Denis , Don from Brisbane, Bruce McGuiness and Maza just to mention a few (Turner,1975). Each of these individuals found that they shared practically indistinguishable political logic and a craving to increase self-assurance and monetary freedom through struggling for their rights via a more fierce technique than activists of the past era had. Lothian noted that the movement was so determined to change the prevailing condition otherwise death could instead be considered as a suitable alternative if nothing else was to be done (Lothian, 2005). One of the things that Lothian refers to include that aboriginal individuals were faced with many diseases like TB and leprosy that lowered the life expectancy and those who survived could not evade poverty and the infant mortality rate was very high. This is one of the issues that the Black Power movement was aimed at addressing as well as making the aboriginal people stop feeling abandoned by addressing their incarceration and heath. Basically, the aspiration of the black power movement was to utilize power emanating from a group of individual who were willing to solve their own issues and problems and those of their communities via all means possible. Aimed at having control over the various cultural, economic and political resources of the people land inclusive. The core aspiration being striving to be in a position for the people to define and set their own future. McGuiness indicates that the movement was not to involve violence and fighting, but if need be it was of the essence as is soul idea was for the aboriginal to be able to view the world in their own way away from the white interference. Seeking freedom to express themselves and carry on their daily activities away from the control of the whites (McGuiness, 1972). One of the historic significance of this movement is that it was able to bring various individual and communities together in the struggle for freedom and their rights. As a group, they were able to plan and act in solidarity. Initially, the aboriginals’ communities for a number of years went through the white invasions and their homelands taken by force, though there were traces of resistance in some areas, it wasn’t effective as compared to the resistance offered by the black power movement that brought activist together. Black Power movement ingrained a feeling of racial pride and confidence in the Australian aboriginals. Through the aboriginal communities were informed that it was dependent upon them to enhance their lives and overcome the rule of the whites (McGuiness, 1972). The movement in depth urged the people to frame or join political gatherings that could give an imposing force base and offer an establishment for genuine social economic development and progress. For a considerable length of time, the movement pioneers stated, aboriginals had been subjected to the white beliefs of what they ought to be. The movement declared that it was the ideal opportunity for people to set their own plan, putting their needs and desires first. The other significance of the Black movement is that movement really produced various positive improvements. Likely the most significant of these was its impact on the aboriginal culture. Interestingly, natives who had grown up trusting that they were from a retrogressive people now discovered that their native culture was as rich and assorted as the others, and they were urged by the activists to take pride in that legacy (Turner,1975. This is evident as even visual craftsmen discovered their voices and imparted those voices to others on the need for freedom. The movement aspired to recover the rights of indigenous people and instill self-determination to the natives as the colonial had controlled almost everything subjecting the indigenous individuals to torture. With the movement, the native were able to link their motive to do away with the colonial’s worldwide. After the movement struggle, a number of territories that were dominated by the colonials became politically independent. One of the indicators of natives sovereignty includes the renegotiating of the white companies that mined minerals and the freeing of land encroached by the whites (McGuiness, 1972). The movement brought a huge takeoff from past government strategies in that it perceived the requests of Aboriginal for social equity and correspondence and recognized their entitlement to settle on choices about matters influencing their own particular lives. The black power movement really had an assortment of things to various individuals, among them the emergence of aboriginal political and social organizations to advance native interests as well as opposing abuse and empowering aboriginal pride. The movement actually can be attributed with the rise of progressive governments that have endeavored to set up structures and procedures that would encourage Aboriginal self-assurance and self-administration inside the Australian state. The movement aided in bringing forth the perspectives of Aboriginal families and accumulated their views through a progression of central groups and contrasted the understandings depicted by the whites. One major characteristic of the movement was the theme of voices calling for coordination and lawful fairness and this lead to numerous individuals strengthening and bolstering the Black Power movement (Turner, 1975). There are so many significance that Black People Movement brought in Australia ,it brought equality between the whites and the aboriginals, gave the natives a sense of racial pride and self-esteem , brought a number of positive developments however on the other hand some problems. The civil right legislation in the black people movement aimed at ensuring that the natives had the same opportunities with the whites. The people got lower wages, insecurity and racial discrimination. Moreover, the movement brought a sense of racial pride and it also raised the black’s self-esteem such that their needs were given a priority. In addition, individuals who had taken pride in their African culture and had accessed university education had their voices heard like the whites. The native poets and authors established study programs and departments. However the movement became problematic because it was not a formally organized movement and the whites pressed on with the discrimination since the movement seemed that it was segregating the blacks. In conclusion, the movement played a great role though it did not succeed fully helped liberate the natives. Though racial discrimination did not end with the little education some aboriginals had acquired they could raise their voices and compete equally with the whites in the job markets. In general the black power movement had a lot of historic significance in the lives of many aboriginal individuals. It brought together a number of activists who together joined power towards realization of the freedom of native Australians. The Australian Black power movement advocates and activists felt the need to demonstrate to whites that the aboriginals also needed to have similar rights and they had to have their freedom. The movement activists trusted that their time would be better spent instructing the natives on the importance of aboriginal freedom and away from the white’s control. The Black Power movement in Australia inspired the native groups by developing sentiments of racial solidarity, regularly contrary to the universe created by the whites. Through the development of the movement, aboriginals came to comprehend themselves and their way of life by investigating and debating the question regarding their true identity and keeping in mind the end goal to build and bound together and practical identity REFERENCES Foley, G., 2009. Black Power in Redfern 1968-1972. McGuiness, B., 1972. Black Power in Australia'. Racism the Australian Experience: A Study of Race Prejudice in Australia, pp.150-156. Turner, A. ed., 1975. Black power in Australia. Heinemann Educational Australia. Lothian, K., 2005. Seizing the time: Australian Aborigines and the influence of the Black Panther Party, 1969-1972. Journal of Black Studies, 35(4), pp.179-200. Read More