Ray Jackson (27 March 1941 – 23 April 2015) was an

Australian Aboriginal Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Isl ...

activist and

Wiradjuri The Wiradjuri people (; ) are a group of Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales, united by common descent through kinship and shared traditions. They survived as skilled hunter-fisher-gatherers, in family groups or clans, a ...

elder. He was President of the Indigenous Social Justice Association (ISJA), and a prominent campaigner for the rights of

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples o ...

Early life

Ray Jackson was a member of the

Stolen Generations The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen Children) were the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian federal and state government agencies and church miss ...

. In 1943, when Jackson was two years old, his father was killed in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, fighting Japanese forces on the

Kokoda Track The Kokoda Track or Trail is a single-file foot thoroughfare that runs overland – in a straight line – through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The track was the location of the 1942 World War II battle between Japanes ...

. Jackson said that instead of his biological mother receiving a war widows pension, the Australian government removed her four children (including Jackson) from her custody due to her Aboriginality. His name was changed and he was sent to a Catholic institution for a year, before being adopted by a white family. It was not until his teen years that he discovered he had been adopted. He never found his biological family, and never learned the original name they had given him.

Activism

Jackson was one of Australia's most prominent and knowledgeable campaigners on the issue of

Aboriginal deaths in custody Aboriginal deaths in custody is a political and social issue in Australia. It rose in prominence in the early 1980s, with Aboriginal activists campaigning following the death of 16-year-old John Peter Pat in 1983. Subsequent deaths in custody, ...

. He campaigned for justice for the families of victims, Eddie Murray, Mark Mason and TJ Hickey. Between 1991 and 1997, Jackson was coordinator of the Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Watch Committee, which was financed by the government agency,

ATSIC The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) (1990–2005) was the Australian Government body through which Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders were formally involved in the processes of government affecting ...

. In an interview published by ''

Green Left Weekly ''Green Left'', previously known as ''Green Left Weekly'', is an Australian socialist newspaper, written by progressive activists to "present the views excluded by the big business media". The newspaper was founded in 1990. Green Left is the d ...

'', Jackson said:

''"We were so well set we had a hotline any blackfella could call, anytime. If a copper so much as verballed a black kid, we'd get a call and be out at the police station, no matter where it was — at the latest — a day later, interrogating them."''

However, when the government led by Prime Minister John Howard cut all funding to the committee, Jackson established the Indigenous Social Justice Association (ISJA) to continue the work. Jackson's small

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica * King George Island ...

apartment was full of shelves and folders containing meticulous records about Aboriginal deaths in custody. He would attend the scenes where people had died at the hands of police, and represent the deceased's families when dealing with the police and authorities. In December 2013, the French government agency

Commission nationale consultative des droits de l'homme The (National Consultative Commission on Human Rights, CNCDH) is a French governmental organization created in 1947 by an from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to monitor the respect for human rights in the country. It may acts as counsellor f ...

awarded Jackson's Indigenous Social Justice Association a prize of 70,000 euros (US$95,100) in recognition of its contribution to human rights. Jackson was responsible for hundreds of rallies and actions, especially in remembrance of lost lives to injustices. Jackson confronted police annually in enabling the TJ Hickey January marches from Redfern where he died to NSW Parliament in the heart of the City of the Sydney. Jackson was often a speaker at protest rallies for Aboriginal rights. Affectionately known as Uncle Ray, he would always attend the rallies wearing in his trademark black cap, decorated with social justice pins. He was a prominent supporter of the

Redfern Aboriginal Tent Embassy The Redfern Aboriginal Tent Embassy was a protest camp run by Aboriginal Australians in the inner-Sydney suburb of Redfern. Its aim was to keep an area of land known as The Block in Aboriginal hands, and to ensure the land was used solely for l ...

, and was a familiar sight there up until his death.

Death

In the months before his death, Ray Jackson had not been feeling well, and a week before his death he was hospitalised with

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

. Shortly after attending a meeting of the Indigenous Social Justice Association, he died peacefully in his sleep on 23 April 2015. His granddaughter found him in bed that day in his

flat. At Jackson's request, his body was donated to the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Ray 1941 births 2015 deaths Australian indigenous rights activists Members of the Stolen Generations Wiradjuri people