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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
medium-paced
We need more people like Anita Heiss - smart, funny, highly articulate, forthright - across all different cultural and ethnic backgrounds - to keep reminding us to think about white privilege and other more hidden forms of racism, that may have become internalised as part of "normal culture". I found this book highly entertaining, thought-provoking and educational. Despite Anita Heiss not wishing to be a one-woman cultural awareness workshop, her thoughts about her work and her life as an educated, urban Aboriginal woman did offer a lot of insight into what "being Aboriginal" means in contemporary Australia. For me, one of the most interesting parts of this book is her thoughts on identifying as Aboriginal - her father is Caucasian (Austrian) but she identifies 100% as Aboriginal. It almost seems a compulsion / spiritual necessity for her; reading this made me also question my own cultural identity, since I also live in-between cultures.
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
Have enjoyed her "chick lit" in the past and good to get a broader feel for where she is coming from,mane also to reflect on the role the media can play in perpetuating unfounded claims.
Dr Anita Heiss’ Am I Black Enough for You? should be required reading for every Australian.
First published in 2012, it has been updated and subtitled “10 Years On”. I haven’t read the original, so I’m not sure how much it diverts from the first, but I found it an entertaining and educational read and it made me rethink and reassess my own views on what it means to be an Aboriginal in this country.
It’s billed as a memoir but it’s much more than that. It’s an account of a range of issues affecting Aboriginal Australians as told through Heiss’ own intimate and personal lens as a successful author, a passionate advocate for Aboriginal literacy and a high-achieving public intellectual. Just last month, she was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to tertiary Indigenous Studies & the Arts.
A proud Wiradyuri woman from central NSW, Heiss was raised in suburban Sydney and educated at her local Catholic school. Her father was an immigrant from Austria and her mother was Aboriginal and she cheekily describes herself as a “concrete Koori with Westfield Dreaming” because she lives in the city and loves shopping!
The book essentially breaks down the stereotypes and myths surrounding what it is to be a First Nations person in Australia. It also shatters the expectation that just because Heiss identifies as an Aboriginal, she does not have to be “all-knowing of Aboriginal culture, or to be the Black Oracle”.
It’s written in a friendly, light-hearted tone but Heiss isn’t afraid to tackle serious issues head-on. She writes about the Stolen Generations (her grandmother was removed from her family in 1910 and lived a life of servitude until 1927, when she got married), racism, why she doesn’t celebrate Australia Day, the black lives matter movement and poor literacy rates in remote Aboriginal communities.
For a more detailed review, please visit my blog.
First published in 2012, it has been updated and subtitled “10 Years On”. I haven’t read the original, so I’m not sure how much it diverts from the first, but I found it an entertaining and educational read and it made me rethink and reassess my own views on what it means to be an Aboriginal in this country.
It’s billed as a memoir but it’s much more than that. It’s an account of a range of issues affecting Aboriginal Australians as told through Heiss’ own intimate and personal lens as a successful author, a passionate advocate for Aboriginal literacy and a high-achieving public intellectual. Just last month, she was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to tertiary Indigenous Studies & the Arts.
A proud Wiradyuri woman from central NSW, Heiss was raised in suburban Sydney and educated at her local Catholic school. Her father was an immigrant from Austria and her mother was Aboriginal and she cheekily describes herself as a “concrete Koori with Westfield Dreaming” because she lives in the city and loves shopping!
The book essentially breaks down the stereotypes and myths surrounding what it is to be a First Nations person in Australia. It also shatters the expectation that just because Heiss identifies as an Aboriginal, she does not have to be “all-knowing of Aboriginal culture, or to be the Black Oracle”.
It’s written in a friendly, light-hearted tone but Heiss isn’t afraid to tackle serious issues head-on. She writes about the Stolen Generations (her grandmother was removed from her family in 1910 and lived a life of servitude until 1927, when she got married), racism, why she doesn’t celebrate Australia Day, the black lives matter movement and poor literacy rates in remote Aboriginal communities.
For a more detailed review, please visit my blog.
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
This memoir covers both Heiss' experience as a "concrete Koori" living in Sydney, her life while maintaining a focus on her reaction to Andrew Bolt's attack on her identity and racial background and the subsequent legal proceedings.
The identity issues associated with being an urban Indigenous dweller are unpacked and explored with a relatable tone that is both appealing and educating. For me, the best part of this book is that it is easily read, there are some brilliant discussion points and as a soon to be high school teacher there are some great "teachable moments" that can be drawn from the pages.
The identity issues associated with being an urban Indigenous dweller are unpacked and explored with a relatable tone that is both appealing and educating. For me, the best part of this book is that it is easily read, there are some brilliant discussion points and as a soon to be high school teacher there are some great "teachable moments" that can be drawn from the pages.
I didn't love this. It was a hard read truth be told. I just think this memoir style wasn't particularly captivating for me.
However, I am glad I read this, I think it was informative and I learnt a lot and added much to my reading list.
However, I am glad I read this, I think it was informative and I learnt a lot and added much to my reading list.
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced