Tag Archives: Professor Gracelyn Smallwood

Interview with Prof. Gracelyn Smallwood – Nelson Mandella

Interview with Prof. Gracelyn Smallwood - Nelson Mandella

Interview with Prof. Gracelyn Smallwood – Nelson Mandella

Interview with Prof. Gracelyn Smallwood – Nelson Mandella a humble freedom fighter / Torres News By MARK BOUSEN.

The late Madiba Nelson Mandela was a humble freedom fighter who promoted truth, justice and reconciliation with violence, a prominent world, human rights figure has said.

Professor Gracelyn Smallwood, who last month received a United Nations Award for her 45 years of work and service for national and international health and human rights, told the Torres News at the Australian South Sea Islanders (ASSI) forum at Tweed Heads on the weekend.

Professor Smallwood, who lives in Townsville, met Mr Mandela in 1997 when she and Dr Chris Sarra were VIP guests of the South African President for the 20th anniversary of the death in custody of the late Steve Biko. “We were among the millions and we were waving the Aboriginal and Torres Islander flags near Mr Mandela. “The flags were spotted by Mr Mandela’s good friend Kwame Ture, the former Black Panther who was previously known as Stokely Carmichael, who was seated next to Mr Mandela. “Mr Mandela sent one of his guards who was carrying a machine gun and with a dog to invite us to sit in a vacant chair next to him. “As there was only one seat, Dr Sarra and I decided to take a rain check and would meet the President at a small function that night.”

Professor Smallwood, who has family in the Torres Strait, recounts that President Manela was accompanied by journalist Donald Woods, who promoted and assisted with the movie Cry Freedom, the movie based on Biko’s live and death. “Mr Mandela made a humble statement about obtaining reconciliation with the truth. But in Australia, we’re trying to have reconciliation without the truth. “President Mandela also played a prominent role in the mediation with (Libyan leader) Colonel Gaddafi over the Pan Am incident (also known as the Lockerbie bombing).

“In a sense, my father, Archie Smallwood, did in Australia what President Mandela did in South Africa about human rights.” The day following the celebrations in South Africa and Professor Smallwood and Dr Sarra travelled to Libya via Malta to attend a human rights conference where Professor Smallwood talked about how the land rights fought for and won by the late Eddie Koiki Mabo were being watered down in Australia. “This created a massive breakdown and disharmony in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.”

Professor Smallwood said there will be harmony only when reconciliation is achieved with truth. “Reparation and reconciliation needs to be made to the First Families, Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islanders/South Sea Islanders as this country has, in the last 230 years, become one of the wealthiest countries in the world on the back of black slavery.”

Professor Smallwood is a registered nurse and midwife, prominent figure in Indigenous Mental health and holds a Master of Science Degree in Public Health, as well as a PhD in First Nations Australian health and human rights. “The United Nations Award is a real honour as I have retired, but it also reflects on my parents, particularly my father who was from the Juru Birrigubba homeland (in the Bundaberg district) and was sent to the infamous Palm Island at a young age under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Protection Act,” she said.

Professor Gracelyn Smallwood speaks out to Australian South Sea Islanders

Professor Gracelyn Smallwood

Professor Gracelyn Smallwood speaks out to Australian South Sea Islanders with her talk on ‘Community Cohesion and Activism’ at this year’s Wantok 2013 National Forum.

As a surviving descendant of the Blackbirding trade in Australia between 1863 and 1908, Professor Smallwood will be presenting a talk on ‘Community Cohesion and Activism’ at this years Wantok 2013 Australian South Sea Islanders National Forum in her capacity as leader of the Historical Advisory Panel to the ASSI.PJ interim national body.

Smallwood says… “When people in general don’t understand the history of Slavery they internalise their pain and take it out on the very people that are trying to promote unity, justice and reparation”. She looks forward to presenting at Wantok 2013 and answering any questions.

Emelda Davis says… “The ASSI-PJ board are humbled that Professor Smallwood is a volunteer advisor to the interim national body with her high range of qualifications. We look forward to Gracelyn’s presentation and continued work with our organisation.”

As well as a being scholar in residence at Drexel University Philadelphia USA, Gracelyn has lectured in cross-cultural studies at the East-West Centre in Hawaii and has also lectured at Universities in the West Indies comparing the philosophy of the late Marcus Garvey, Civil Rights Movement of the world with that of the South Sea Islander (Kanaka Slavery in Australia). Continue reading →

Professor Gracelyn Smallwood Honored by the United Nations for her Distinguished Contribution to Community

Professor Gracelyn Smallwood honored by the United Nations

Professor Gracelyn Smallwood honored by the United Nations.

Emelda Davis says…”as president of the ASSI.PJ, and on behalf of the board, we would like to congratulate Professor Gracelyn Smallwood on her 45 years of commitment to her relentless community work and most recent international achievement of recognition for the pestigious United Nations Association of Australia’s Queensland Community Award – Individual, in recognition of her service to education and to public health. The award acknowledges her contribution to Australian Universities, to HIV Aids and consultative work to the World Health Organization.”

The award was presented on the 24th October 2013 by the Governor of Queensland, Her Excellency Penelope Wensley AC at Government House in Brisbane.

This was a mainstream award with two other Indigenous recipients also receiving awards, namely Les Malezer and Professor Boni Robertson.

Professor Gracelyn Smallwood – AO, MSc, RN. A Vanuatu descendant and proud Birri-gubba Woman & Elder for the Birri people in Townsville Gracelyn was awarded Queensland Aboriginal of the Year in 1986; an Order of Australia medal in 1992 for service to public health, particularly HIV-AIDS education; and in 1994 was the first woman, Indigenous person and non-peadiatrician to receive the Henry Kemp Memorial Award at the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect Scholarship in cross-cultural comparative health of Maori and First Nations in New Mexico and Arizona, and then Polynesian disadvantage in Hawaii.

Gracelyn has lectured in cross-cultural studies at the East-West Centre in Hawaii and was Associate Professor and Director of the University of Southern Queensland’s Kumbari/Ngurpai Lag Higher Education Centre for Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders from 1995 to 1999. She has lectured at Thursday Island, the University of Honolulu, and participated as a speaker at a W.H.O conference in public health. Currently works at the largely Indigenous Cleveland Youth Detention Centre as nurse and mentor, and at Townsville Hospital as a nurse and midwife; Associate Professor and Indigenous Advisor to the Vice-Chancellor at James Cook University a driving force behind JCU’s progressive Reconciliation Statement.

As a surviving descendant of the Blackbirding trade in Australia between 1863 and 1908, Professor Smallwood will be presenting a talk on ‘Community Cohesion and Activism’ at this years Wantok 2013 Australian South Sea Islanders National Forum in her capacity as leader of the Historical Advisory Panel to the ASSI.PJ interim national body.