Sistas in the Struggle

What was most exciting about those times was being right in the thick of it in Redfern ... It wasn't just what was happening, but what we could foresee happening.

From rural New South Wales to Far North Queensland and Darwin, the authors of Sistas in the Struggle experienced childhoods shaped by harsh government control and enduring community strength. Bound by kinship, political awakening and an upbringing forged in survival and resistance, they converged in Redfern - and sparked a movement.

Inspired by the Wave Hill Walk-Off, the Yolngu fight against mining and Black liberation struggles abroad, they found radical allies in student activists, unionists, Communists, progressive Christians and professionals. They established community-controlled organisations including the Aboriginal Legal Service, Aboriginal Medical Service, Black Theatre, Murawina Preschool and the Aboriginal Housing Company. The landmark 1972 Aboriginal Tent Embassy showed all of Australia that Redfern was at the forefront of a nation-wide Black Movement.

As activists, mothers, aunties and Elders, these are the women who built institutions, organised protests and sustained their families and communities with fierce love and resolve. Told collectively and in their own words, Sistas in the Struggle honours the women of the Redfern Black Movement.