Bain Attwood

William Cooper was for many years a forgotten figure of Australian history but recent efforts have seen his name return to its rightful position in Australian and world history.

"Thinking Black" is a relatively slim volume that is part min-biography (which runs for about thirty pages) and a reproduction of the correspondence he carried out with various politicians, bureacrats and supporters on behalf of the Australian Aborigines' League.

While the correspondence shows well his growing frustration with the lack of assistance given to Aboriginal people throughout Australia, I found it odd that so little emphasis in the book on what is Cooper's biggest legacy; the protest march he led against Kristallnacht (the only private protest against Kristallnacht in the world).

In retropspect, it's interesting to look at some of the proposals he championed, such as a change in the Constitution to allow the federal government to look after Aboriginals nation-wide (which wouldn't happen until 1967) and the poor conditions at Cumeragundja, which led to the fanous 1939 walk-off.

Nowadays, there is a bridge in Melbourne named after Cooper, as well as a forest in Israel and a Chair in Holocaust Studies at an Israeli university. Not bad for a man who had rudimentry schooling and lived in tin shacks or similar for most of his life. I'm sure Cooper would be astonished at the attention that his life has received over the last decade.

So, long story short, decent enough book, as long as you don't mind reading nearly one hundred pages of his letters to various people.… (mehr)