Because a white man'll never do it

by Kevin Gilbert

First published in 1973, Kevin Gilbert's controversial account of Aboriginal affairs is a damning portrait of the colonization of Australia by Britain, and the problems that have resulted. It tells the story of land theft, attempted racial extermination, oppression, denial of human rights, slavery, ridicule, denigration, inequality and paternalism. It also posits a solution seemingly incomprehensible to many - it examines what the indigenous people really want - land, compensation, discreet non-dictatorial help, but most of all to be left alone by white Australia.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Indigenous, Race, Australia, History, Social Justice

210 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[Louisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

From Mudrooroo's introduction:

"In this book, though published in 1973 in the heady days of the Whitlam era, Kevin Gilbert wrote about the problems which still plague Australia and Aboriginal Affairs today. It is not enough to declare that Aboriginal problems are health, education and employment and when these are fixed so will be the problem. Such policies hide the fact that there is a political dimension that must also be addressed; but not from the top down. ...

We have all the time necessary to effect a just and true reconciliation, one which is not foisted on us from Canberra. It is often asked what Aborigines want and then answered with a shrug. The fact is answers have been provided by Aboriginal writers such as Kevin Gilbert that are simply ignored by those in power.

I may sound too political in this foreword, but then this book is one of the best political books on land rights ever written in Australia, and is a call to action and a galvanisation of the People. ... It is a sad book too, because although published in 1973, it is still so awfully relevant to us."

This book was such a good read because it is so unashamedly political. The distance of time and language and the slightly different contemporary Political context clarifies the underlying politics and highlights the importance of the foundational political question it addresses.

Kevin Gilbert's closing words:

"Where can blacks turn? To whom can they appeal? Where do you appeal, after all, when you know that the thief is the judge? ... 'The only power Aborigines will ultimately have will be in their ability for political organisation independent of the institutions of government.' ... So what is left? Frustration, negation, blind hatred, powerlessness ... The psychological nadir. Where can blacks go, in Australia today, except to Chapter 7?" (Call to violence).

[Sobukhosi · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading this book, originally published in 1973 you get the sense that not much has changed for the aboriginal people, the problems and issues they faced then, they still face today.
At times you could feel the raw emotions of the author seeping out of the pages as he discussed the injustices the aboriginal people have gone through, the mental and psychological impacts they suffer from their colonisation and substance abuse that continues to affect and curtail the progress the aboriginal people. He says it as he sees it which at times sat uncomfortable with me because it was so true.
The biggest statement I felt from the book was when he stated that if the aboriginal had been a majority in Australia then the world would have viewed their plight as colonisation. Since they're a minority they now continue to fight for their traditional lands, fight for the right of self determination, equal opportunities and basic recognition as a people. He puts across radical ideas that he believes will bring some sort of fairness for the horrors his people have faced in the past which some I believe some are not practical in the current environment.
The author also tears mercilessly into his own people whilst also owning up to fact that aboriginals need to only look to themselves to overcome the issues of substance abuse, domestic violence, etc.
Overall the book shows it's not so black and white, good intentions are being drowned by greed and very few are willing to do right by the first people of Australia.

[Claire Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really interesting artefact of its - some of the language sits really uncomfortably with modern sensibilities but if you can get past that and the ego involved in some of his discussions of political rivals it's a fascinating book. One aspect of interest is that it was written in the very early days of the Whitlam government - I can tell you that their ATSI policy sounds positively revolutionary compared to anything either of the dumb and dumber side of politics offer today. Of course it wasn't and Gilbert very astutely rips it to shreds.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked Kevin Gilbert's writing style. It is sad with how much of the book is still relevant today 40 years later, and I wish this book or another like it is required reading for anyone going into Australian politics.

[Luke McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spiky and clear-minded work of political polemic/theory, unafraid of complication.

[Mira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although some of the language is dated, this book is all and everything, facts set down on the page. Poetry, transcriptions of broadcasts, first hand accounts, an intense history and inked protest against everything. What actually happened. When it is laid out like that, there is no argument about soft racism, no excuses. Better than the internet and general opinions and a sure progression towards changing people's stupid brains if everyone was asked to sit at a desk and read it front to back.

[Philipp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Partially a historical document, partially an angry treatise. This came out in 1973 and is all about Aboriginal land rights in Australia, and the importance of native title for Aboriginal self-determination.

But the unique point of the land/compensation claim is that it allows Aborigines to re-establish themselves as full human beings, to give them some chance to heal. Repatriation style benefits will never do this, any more than any other handouts have ever done.

It's incredibly sad that it took another 20 years of fighting after this book until Mabo, which finally granted these rights.

Still, it's an important book because it's full of predictions that turned out to be true:

Land is to be vested in communities once they have been incorporated. Blacks are at a crossroads in their history on this matter. On no account must they fall into the error of allowing land to be vested in small groups or clans, for to do so will make them an easy target in the future. It only takes one drunk or one fool or one traitor to sell the land forever. Whites will have the land back within a generation and will have robbed the Aborigines of any moral basis for a new land claim. It is a policy of divide and conquer. All land must be granted in perpetuity, be vested in a National Aboriginal Land Trust for the Aboriginal people as a whole and be incapable of alienation.

or

If I want to raise a black man to a new standard, then first of all I have to go down to where he is. I must meet him there. I must work with him at the level he is at. If I don’t do that, then in his eyes I am ‘flash’; I am trying to be an ‘imitation white man’. Once he thinks that of me, all he will do is resist me.
[....]
the government will say, ‘Hey, hold on a minute … You’ve got half a million dollars in Redfern, so much here, so much there. That’s your compensation.’ Here lie the seeds for the conflict of tomorrow. For no grassroots black is ever going to regard any hideously expensive, white-anted, white-controlled showpiece, no matter how much it costs, as anything but the travesty that in truth it is.

Important reading if you're into first peoples' rights.

[Lesieli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Black internationalism has weak legs in formulating global opinion as well as people becoming significantly astute and dialectical about white supremacy, race, and material conditions from place to place. However, I can understand the importance of a sort of ‘conglomerate trans-nationalism, regionalism, or bio-politic’ that IS bound together by one genealogy, one root, and a shared history of subjugation via Babylon systems. I constantly have to work on these ideas myself while being cognizant of the on-going ramifications of Europe’s (and other bastardized Anglo entities) colonial, neocolonial, and imperialist endeavors. Because A White Man’ll Never Do It puts these particular trains of thought into a perspective that both contests and demands the legitimacy of its usefulness.

Kevin Gilbert writes from an Aboriginal/black vantage point on which I’ve only just begun to look through to aid constructive thinking about Indigenous/Black liberation. Many do not know that “Australia” is not a white place, and, that there was yet another pillage of indigenous peoples and land theft done by the criminal kin of the Great Whites. In this book, Gilbert is amazing at bluntly saying the things out-right and causing a “stir” as he had declared was his only real impact several times. I don’t agree with or think all of his conclusions were fully developed—grace points for this book being written a few decades ago. Kevin Gilbert was as equally passionate about the psychological warfare of the white state as he was land rights and policy making for Aboriginal people, by Aboriginal people with their true desires at heart. He put me on game nonetheless and I’m looking forward to more deep dives into Aboriginal histories and struggles.

Big up!!! x

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It parallels arguments I’ve read from black American contemporaries like Malcolm X and James Baldwin – namely, a desire to be properly compensated for past wrongs of the white man, then to be left alone afterwards. It argues against forced assimilation with a white culture which does not actively desire a black presence; against white laws which seem more concerned with prosecuting blacks rather than protecting them.

I’m unsure how representative Gilbert’s views are of indigenous desires as a whole; it feels like an entry point to understanding the problem and needs, but certainly not a standalone read.

The language may be dated, but a lot of the material still rings true some 50 years later. While it may have been written pre-Mabo, it’s alarming how little has changed otherwise aside from politician and party names. Australia still has a huge problem with recognising the needs of its indigenous cultures, and it falls upon white people to amplify those indigenous voices from a population small enough for media to conveniently ignore.

[Tom Burdge · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book. Gilbert chillingly details Aboriginal Australasians' experience of racism, and economic and social hardship.

The main point of Gilbert's point is: end paternalism, whites must give aborigines land rights and piss of. (Not a direct quote, but this reflects how Gilbert phrases himself in the book)
He thinks aborigines can only start to take responsibility for themselves when white men stop reflecting their own values into the affirmative action "done to" aboriginal people. None of this should be controverisal; compensation and aid programs should be directed by the people it aims to support.

A strong point of the work is Gilbert's incorporation of quotes from other aboriginal activists; Bobbi Sykes is particularly eloquent and I intend to read some of her work

There are some worries to hav. Given his pessimism about the prospect of an aboriginal nation in the Northern Territories it seems he knows an aboriginal ethno-state will never happen. Nevertheless, he clearly wants reservations to be their own little independent nations. There are many positive things to say about these demands, but he doesnt seem suspicious of the "increasing support" he gets from white Australians. Many of his statements of separate aboriginal and white Australia may satisfy the ideals One Nation Australians.

I started reading this during an existentialism module for a presentation on black existentialism. What struck me was Gilbert's use of "black" to describe aboriginal australians; from what i understand this is archaic among most aboriginal australiand, and would be unacceptable under any circumstances from a white person. While keeping these complications in mind I think it's important to note that since many non-africana people were socialised as black (aboriginal, Papuan, South Asian people for instance) its likely an oversight that philosophers such as Lewis R Gordon who write about 'black existentialism' only mention africana philosophers. An exclusionary use of the word 'black' which could be corrected by incopprating works such as Gilbert's into the discussion.

For instance, a prominent existentialist question is over the extent of our responsibility and freedom. Gilbert asserts throughout the book that whites have robbed first nation Australians of any responsibility through denying them jobs, land, and providing them only benefits and "grog". Nevertheless, Gilbert straddles this line with care. For instance, he argues an aboriginal drunkard who permanently disables himself through and accident while he is blind drunk cant blame the white man for his new gait. For a while i was confused why Gilbert was so pre-occupied with responsibility until I read a quick biography; he served 14 years in jail for killing his wife. Just like Heidegger writing's prominently featuring guilt after WWII, Gilbert was clearly grappling with how to authentically approach his past mistakes. This is just one illustration of Gilbert's concerns which intersect with existentialism.
While the book is more a political polemic for the most part, I think when incorporating Gilbert's other writings into our lense we can clearly see him as an underrepresented philosopher born of struggle.

[manisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

frustrating to finish reading and realising nothing has been put into action by the people in power. the book holds so much valuable information- literally instructions by an Indigenous Australian to help Indigenous Australians. the blueprint is there (and in many others); why aren’t we applying it??

[Melita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reflective of 1970s Australia but reading it in 2018, it is clear that not much has changed in some areas.

[Chris Sharp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will circle back for the review