Blood Brothers – Freedom Ride

Clip 2: Creating a revolution

2 min 44 sec

Taken from the documentary Blood Brothers – Freedom Ride (1993)

Original title classification not known – this clip chosen to be PG

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Availability of the complete title

Please be aware that this clip may contain the names, images and voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who may now be deceased.

Curator’s clip description

Historical footage of Dr Perkins at Sydney University, in the pool halls. Dr Perkins speaks of why segregation must be challenged, and the need for him to fight for the cause of his people.

Curator’s notes

The value of the conviction of Dr Perkins is evident in Freedom Ride. His unwillingness to accept the situation of segregation and racial discrimination is the foundation of the revolution he had to start himself because there wasn’t one already. Dr Perkins represents a specific era in Aboriginal political history, as he recognised the need to physically place himself on the frontline, upsetting all social order, displeasing whites and blacks alike. Dr Perkins’ philosophy was physical as well as conceptual.

Romaine Moreton, curator

australian screen