They made us change our names: black history
This weekend just past was a weekend of delving into history for my family and I. As I wrote once before, the “N” word is banned in our house, yet none of my family arrived with the historical knowledge to understand why, apart from what little I told them. The history is scary and I wanted to introduce them slowly to a past they did not know in depth. This weekend in Australia a wonderful telemovie was broadcast: Mabo, by BlackFella Films. While many Australian readers will be aware of the history, new arrivals may not be, nor may overseas readers.
Mabo is the story of Eddie ‘Koiki’ Mabo, a man who was horrified to discover in 1973 the land his family had farmed for many, many generations was no longer, under white laws, his. He fought the system and on June 3, 1992 the High Court of Australia returned ownership of his land to him, overturning the laws established when white men arrived in Australia of the land being considered unoccupied: the fiction of terra nullius. Sadly, Eddie had died six months before of cancer: he didn’t live to see his victory for his people.
The movie was directed by Rachel Perkins, who also produced Bran Nue Day and First Australians. Rachel has an interesting family history herself as her father, Charles Perkins, was the first First Australian to graduate from university.
Miss O 1 has been learning about the history of the New Zealand Maori people. So as a family we had all this history swirling around, all of it involving the contrast of darker and lighter skin. Mr O and the kids had been asking me for some time for some detail about slavery in the USA, given I banned the “N” word. Millions of the people taken into slavery originated from Nigeria, so for my family it is part of their history.
Mabo showing on TV triggered further discussion. We recorded Mabo. Miss O 2 and Mr O Jnr 2 watched it live with me, while Mr O and the older two watched a video on YouTube, The History of Slavery in America and will watch Mabo later. I think the two younger ones probably need to see it twice to comprehend the seriousness of the material.
Mr O was devastated. [Edit: I did not mean he did not know of the slave trade. He did. He was not aware of the trauma experienced after they left their native land.] Later, when were alone, he was telling me about what he knew of the times before independence in Nigeria, when Nigerians were forced to change their names to English names. I know Mr O’s indigenous name is of more importance to him personally than the name on his birth certificate, yet as it is not an “official” name, he cannot yet use it. We have talked about the possibility of lodging a formal change of name after his permanent residency is finalised so he can have his indigenous name as an official part of his name.
We talked about how back in those days it seemed many white people believed black people were less than human. I find it hard to believe, I can’t imagine how hard it must be for any black person to comprehend this was actually a belief held by many. Yet my reading of historical documents tells me this was indeed a common belief. The laws here were such that indigenous Australians could be shot on sight.
1816 Martial Law (NSW). This proclamation declared Martial Law against Indigenous Australians who could then be shot on sight if armed with spears, or even unarmed, if they were within a certain distance of houses or settlements
1824 (Tasmania). Settlers are authorised to shoot Aboriginal peoples
Slaves in America could be killed on a whim also, as most readers will know. “They lost their identity”, Mr O observed, shaking his head in sadness. Not all, but I am sure many did, given they were prevented from being families in many cases for hundreds of years.
He understands my perspective that although I do not personally feel responsible for the history, I do feel we have a responsibility to rectify what we can. I know some disagree with me: so be it. We talked about him reading a book years ago that said Michael Jackson whitened himself because white Americans “kicked against him”. I do not know the book and Mr O does not remember the name, but he remembers reading it. I don’t know if Mr O yet realises just how popular Michael Jackson was. We talked about some much more controversial topics related to the history of his homeland, which are not be addressed in this article.
For my family, they see the sadness of the treatment of their own people in the USA and other places involved in the slave trade during that time and also the sadness of the treatment of the First Australians: in a country they now call home. There is an emotional connection between the two that cannot be ignored. The discussions in this house are wide-ranging. Native Americans have also been discussed at length and researched.
I cried, watching Mabo, as I have cried watching other historical movies about such topics. Yet I was also uplifted by the fact Australia is a country in which such a case could be won. In many other countries around the world, as my husband pointed out, the plaintiffs in the case would just have disappeared. Slavery ended in the USA and the UK. Many lives, black and white, were lost during the American Civil War.
As a species, the human race is learning. A little too slowly for my liking, but we are learning.
On a personal note, I am struck by the fact yet another date of historical significance coincides with a personal date of significance. I have noted before that my birthday falls on June 12 (yes, today) which is the anniversary of the Loving v Virginia case in the USA. June 3 is both the date my family came home and the date the Mabo decision was handed down. I am sure many people have such coincidences in their lives: maybe I just notice them due to the make-up of our family.
I cannot recommend “Mabo” highly enough. The acting was wonderful and the story is compelling and important. For my family I am on a hunt to find the series “Roots” on DVD. I know it is old now, but I still remember it clearly. If anyone knows of a better film or series for my family, please leave a comment with the details.
Initially, I was hesitant to write this article. Through a fluke of timing, I wasn’t born in Australia, I am white: none of this is my personal history. I felt perhaps I didn’t have the right to write. Yet it IS my history and the history of my family in a wider sense. This is not a history (or law) lesson: I write to illustrate history does not exist just in history books lying gathering dust on library shelves, for many everyday people it is real and personal: there are connections. Mabo is part of the history of the country we all call home, for as much as it is black history it is also white history: it is Australia’s history. The slave trade is directly part of the history of this family’s ancestors. The two histories are entwined in this home.
If we learn nothing from the past, where are we going in the future?
Related articles
- Mabo ruling, 20 years on (abc.net.au)
- Mabo’s gift (smh.com.au)
- Eddie Mabo, the man who changed Australia (bbc.co.uk)
Your husband’s and your children’s growing understanding about the U.S. slavery years and the fall-out that goes on for several generations, emphasizes that we do need to make sure history doesn’t get washed over or forgotten. A constant need for public education on history and how to learn from it.
How do we make it happen, Jean? So much is hidden, glossed over, forgotten. Like my article on the “N” word, for instance: kids think it is cool with little or no knowledge of the past ….
I agree with you, I am just baffled as to how we get governments to ensure schools include our respective histories in the curricula.
Part of the problem is that as the years march forward, this stuff gets further and further lost in the shrouds of history. People who “think” they aren’t touched by it personally, think that dwelling on such history is just being “politically” correct.
Many Chinese who have immigrated to Canada in the past 3 decades may not be aware, that Chinese-Canadians were not granted the right to vote unitl 1947 after WWII. It was the Chinese-Canadians who fought for Canada and some who lost their lives, gave powerful argument to the Canadian Parliament to finally…give the vote. So imagine sacrificing your life, for your home country who didn’t allow you to become a full citizen.
My father immigrated to Canada in 1952. Very close to history.
http://cyclewriteblog.wordpress.com/2010/11/04/outdoor-art-work-as-a-thread-of-national-history-across-canada-monuments-to-chinese-canadian-railway-workers/
As you know interracial marriages weren’t totally legal in some areas of the U.S. for the first part of the 20th century.
You are right. I don’t know if you know about the “White Australia Policy”, which was basically implemented to keep whatw as thought may be “cheap” Asian labour out of Australia to protect the jobs of Australians. I haven’t written about it, but you may be interested in looking it up, given your interest in history.
First Australians were not counted as citizens until relatively recently.
These things fade in people’s memories and then we humans make the same or fimilar mistakes again.
It is very sad.
Thank you for this rich and wonderful post, Robyn. I know so little about Austrailian racial history, though for a long time, I’ve been interested in it (haven’t had much chance to research it). I learned about the fostering of indiginous aboriginal children after listing to the music of Archie Roach. (Native Americans faced similar re-education/re-parenting here briefly.) I look forward to seeing the films you recommend.
When Alex Haley’s book Roots came out (mid 1970s) my family made a nightly ritual of reading it together in the livingroom. I was very young, but read my share and was allowed to feel the most painful parts of the history along with my parents. When the miniseries came out, it was that much more meaningful to us. I have been waiting until I think the time is right for my own children to see/read it. They do know the story of slavery in the US, but Roots makes it so much more real and compelling.
Lisa, I am so glad to hear your views on Roots, as I wasn’t sure if there was something better to show my family. If you think it is good, that is wonderful news!
My family definitely know some of it. In fact, Mr O tells me that one politician at one time campaigned on the basis of claiming all the money owed by the USA for the slaves. That politician was killed and therefore never elected.
Mr O and I had a lengthy discussion about my view that if any money was every claimable, it should rightly go to the descendents of the people enslaved, not the country from when the people originated!
What a tangled web us humans weave throughout the generations.
Robyn, I have ‘Roots’ on video. I don’t know how much it would cost to change it to DVD, but I’ll enquire and if I manage to change it, you may borrow it. I’ll let you know.
That would be great Vera! Might be cheaper to get on loan from the video store, if they have it. I’ll check tomorrow, but thank you for the offer!
Vera, I typed that very quickly before we went out last night: I got our wedding vieo converted and it cost about $60, so that is why I said hiring would be cheaper if I can get it!
That’s what Alan said! I’ll enquire anyway, but I would like to change over all my collection of videos and I have loads!
Very moving tale. I’m from New Zealand where we have our own history involving native people and settlers. In the last few years, we have had an expat Waitangi Day barbecue (commemorating the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi), where we Kiwiana the place the up, drink NZ wine and beer and eat lamb. Lots of lamb. It’s a bit weird for us as Waitangi Day is either a free day off or a day of protests, according to your beliefs, in New Zealand.
Australia Day is a bit like that here, Kimba. A day of celebration or a day of sorrow. As this is your first visit (Welcome!) you may not realise I was born in New Zeland (Greymouth to be precise) so I understand Waitangi Day. I can understand the different feelings, but I also recognise it would impossible to turn back time. Somehow we have to find joy for all, yet that will only come when ALL feel equal.
Very interesting, especially coming from a mixed race family. I remember segregated beaches in New Jersey, and race riots in the south. Watching a film a few years ago about a high school being forced to integrate and how it affected the football team “Remember the Titans” my 8 year old son could not grasp the issue of race. “So what dad, they all come from different schools?” I had a difficult time explaining how 40 years ago black people were not considered equal in much of this country.
I am not sure he ever grasped the concept.
I think that is a good thing.
I think it is a good thing too. Your country and mine have different but similar histories, sadly.
Grab “Mabo” if you can get it in the USA – I think you and your son would like it.
Humanity, alas, seems to have a limitless capacity to create perjoratives to express the discrimination that has dogged us through history. And it is so destructive, wrong and unnecessary! If everybody treated each other with cheerful acceptance, exalted each other’s strengths – received each other with kindness – the world would be a far better place. It is not much to ask; all we have to do is be reasonable and tolerant, and put others first.
Needless to say, as a cynical historian I am only too well aware of just how much a pipe-dream that ideal may be. I’ve put a lifetime into looking at the human condition – a complex, flawed, phenomenon which carries its own seeds of destruction with it. The history of humanity is littered with appalling acts of inhumanity, often on the basis of some foolishly defined difference that is used to show who is ‘in’ and who is ‘out’. As a species we seem to be dogged by this problem in all walks of life – and the science suggests it is perhaps even innate, a survival mechanism gone wrong – something from our far past that simply doesn’t work today.
However, I don’t subscribe to pure determinism. I think we can, consciously, overcome what drags down humanity. We can become better people; and for me, at least, those values of kindness, tolerance and reason are a first step to which we should all aspire.
I know I’ve said this before, but it’s well worth repeating!
Matthew, thank you for a wonderful contribution to the discussion. You are welcome to repeat as often as you like!
I agree with you mostly. As a historian you know better than I the history of humans. Clans, tribes – call them what you will, whether Scottish clans, Native American tribes or African tribes – humans have always fought to gain or defend. Gain good hunting grounds, defend good water. Stolen women to expand the gene pool (even if they didn’t know that was what they were doing). In those simple times I am not so sure it was inhumanity – it was simply survival. New Zealand Maoris, if I recall correctly, had seasons for fighting. Good planning.
Then there became more of us. We formed countries, or colonial masters forced disparate groups to become a country (Mozambique for one). Along the way we started to dislike those “not like us”. We patroled and protected borders. We invented passports and visas. We started invading, often under very “justified” banners, such a the Aryan race.
Science gave us the ability to bomb Japan, place landmines in Cambodia, gas people en masse. Science gave us many wonderful things, but we have not always used science wisely.
Even without science, we managed to burn witches in Salem (if they survived they weren’t witches – is that correct?).
Overlay religion as another ancient tribal/clan grouping and we now have multi-dimensional clans.
Killing for a carrot did not lead to as much death as killing for a carat.
I don’t think it is a gene (or genes) gone wrong – I think it is a mechanism (genetic) that served us well enough when we needed to defend our water source or expand our hunting ground. With 7 billion people and money as the only true God, when we can kill millions with the push of a button? The survival mechanism has not evolved as fast as we have removed the barriers to survival.
Technology removes most barriers to survival. If we chose, we could do this for evey man, woman and child on the planet. We chose, as a species, not to. We chose to fight and kill. Someone commented on an earlier article of mine about “sharing our bit of pie”. Why are we reluctant to share? I am not suggesting we become communists or socialists, but there is more than enough to take care of the less fortunate.
We do not have to hate.
Happy birthday! and thank you for giving us all food for thought. It IS our personal history because we are all humans.
Thank you for the birthday wishes.
Yes, it is all our history. Check Matthew’s comment – I think you will like it!
I watched Roots as a young girl and this movie made such an impact on me. I still remember the scenes vividly today. I’ve been meaning to find it for my kids to watch…thanks for prompting me to get this done!
I’ll have to check out Mabo.
Please do watch Mabo, Beth, and I am happy to hear you had similar impressions to myself of “Roots”. I will tackle our local video stores on the weekend.
If you are any in your family are interested in learning about the impact and race in America, please look through my blogs that deal specifically with the ‘N’ word or check out any of my latest book concerning race in America. Have your library get them for you. Stay strong.
I am definitely sure your latest book will be of great value to my family, Paul. The library is a good idea, actually, as the book shops may take quite some time.
Books may also help with the ongoing English development, although I’ll need to watch the differences between American and British English. Spelling particularly for the kids, although we are starting to accept both forms at least in tertiary institutions.
I am completely disgusted with you!! How can you ban the use of the word Nachos!! I mean really..they are delicious and an experience that every person must have during their childhood!! :p
On a more serious note, I think you have every right to write whatever you want to about your thoughts and feelings – even if you had no connection to the chocolate flavoured ones, they are still human and their fundamental rights as living breathing sentient beings should be fought for!
(Yes I realise I am being un-pc there, but you know I am a strong believer that some things are taken far too much out of context and people get up in arms over the most stupid things. I think you will agree with me though – chocolate is definitely better than vanilla right?)
You are in fine form today!
No, I disagree – chocolate and vanilla are equally delicious, it is all a matter of personal preference. Unless I suppose, you have an allergy to vanilla beans or cocoa beans, in which case maybe not so much choice!
I probably would have had no difficulty writing if I was NOT connected, actually – sometimes I second guess the connection too much, I think.
As for the nachos – well, you know – I do prefer Tacos really.
I’ve heard about the telemovie “Mabo”, and am eager to see it as soon as it comes my way. As you say, we are all part of the history of Australia whether we are black or white, and this movie is important to all of us who chose to call Australia home.
You have written this post most compellingly; it will touch many a heart, and I’m glad you took the time to write about it here.
Oh, and Happy Birthday Robyn!
Thank you Barbb, on both counts. Mabo is availble for a limited time on iView, I believe.
Definitely important history for all.