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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Lesley Williams was forced to leave the Cherbourg Aboriginal Settlement and her family at a young age to work as a domestic servant. Apart from pocket money, Lesley never saw her wages – they were kept ‘safe’ for her and for countless others just like her. She was taught not to question her life, until desperation made her start to wonder, where is all that money she earned? And so began a nine-year journey for answers.'
'Inspired by her mother’s quest, a teenage Tammy Williams entered a national writing competition with an essay about injustice. The winning prize took Tammy and Lesley to Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch and ultimately to the United Nations in Geneva. Along the way, they found courage they never thought they had and friendship in the most unexpected places.' (Source: On-line)
Notes
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Dedication : This book is dedicated to the Old People. Their legacy lives on inside us.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Aboriginal Women's Life-History Writing, Settler Reading and Not Just Black and White
2022
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , 11 December vol. 37 no. 3 2022;'In a 2019 article in The Guardian, Gomeroi poet, essayist and legal scholar Alison Whittaker declared ‘Blak literature is in a golden age. Our white audiences, who are majorities in both literary industry and buying power, are deep in an unseen crisis of how to deal with it.’ This essay tries to understand what constitutes the crisis, how settler readers, like me, might see it and emerge from it, and what some of the stakes are. I consider the reading crisis in relation to the dominant model for reading testimonial literature established by Shoshana Felman and Dori Laub, which positions the reader/listener as empathetic co-owner of the speaker’s trauma and powerful enabler of their testimony. Following Libby Porter, I contend settlers can progress to ‘more mature ways of responding to the invitation to a sovereign relationship.’ I discuss three strategies settler readers can implement to this end: focus on the presence of the writer, position themselves as outsiders wanting to listen and recognise themselves as implicated subjects. I ground the discussion in the 2015 life-history text Not Just Black and White: A Conversation between a Mother and Daughter by Murri women Lesley Williams and Tammy Williams.' (Publication abstract)
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[Review] Not Just Black and White
2017
single work
review
— Appears in: Queensland Review , December vol. 24 no. 2 2017; (p. 324-325)
— Review of Not Just Black and White 2015 single work biography'Not Just Black and White is a powerful true story of the lives of two Aboriginal women. Written by a mother and daughter, the book tells an important part of Queensland’s history and was the winner of the prestigious David Unaipon Award in 2014. On reading the book, I was reminded of other Aboriginal women’s life stories, such as Rita Huggins’ and Jackie Huggins’ 1994 narrative Aunty Rita and Ruth Hegarty’s Is That You, Ruthie? in 2003. These narratives also tell of Aboriginal women’s resilience and resistance to colonial oppression in Cherbourg, Queensland, located approximately 250 kilometres north-west of Brisbane.' (Introduction)
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Telling Their Story Straight : Annette Marfording Reviews ‘Not Just Black and White’ by Lesley and Tammy Williams
2016
single work
— Appears in: Rochford Street Review , April - June no. 18 2016;
— Review of Not Just Black and White 2015 single work biography -
Award Goes to Mother, Daughter
2016
single work
column
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 19 October no. 637 2016; (p. 26) 'Aboriginal mother and daughter writing team Lesley and Tammy Williams have been presented the Queensland Premier's Award for a Work of State Significance for their book Not Just Black and White. ...' -
Two of Us : Tammy and Lesley Williams
Helen Chryssides
(interviewer),
2015
single work
interview
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 5 September 2015; 'Lesley Williams, 68, suffered racial discrimination as an Aboriginal mother raising three kids alone. Her daughter, Tammy, 37, is a barrister who has recorded her mum's stories for a new book ... '
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Review : Not Just Black and White
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Books + Publishing , July vol. 95 no. 1 2015; (p. 23)
— Review of Not Just Black and White 2015 single work biography -
Telling Their Story Straight : Annette Marfording Reviews ‘Not Just Black and White’ by Lesley and Tammy Williams
2016
single work
— Appears in: Rochford Street Review , April - June no. 18 2016;
— Review of Not Just Black and White 2015 single work biography -
[Review] Not Just Black and White
2017
single work
review
— Appears in: Queensland Review , December vol. 24 no. 2 2017; (p. 324-325)
— Review of Not Just Black and White 2015 single work biography'Not Just Black and White is a powerful true story of the lives of two Aboriginal women. Written by a mother and daughter, the book tells an important part of Queensland’s history and was the winner of the prestigious David Unaipon Award in 2014. On reading the book, I was reminded of other Aboriginal women’s life stories, such as Rita Huggins’ and Jackie Huggins’ 1994 narrative Aunty Rita and Ruth Hegarty’s Is That You, Ruthie? in 2003. These narratives also tell of Aboriginal women’s resilience and resistance to colonial oppression in Cherbourg, Queensland, located approximately 250 kilometres north-west of Brisbane.' (Introduction)
-
Talking Points
David Gaunt
(interviewer),
2015
single work
interview
— Appears in: Books + Publishing , July vol. 95 no. 1 2015; (p. 26) ' 'Not Just Black and White' is a memoir that takes the form of a 'conversation in print' between mother and daughter Lesley and Tammy Williams.' -
Two of Us : Tammy and Lesley Williams
Helen Chryssides
(interviewer),
2015
single work
interview
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 5 September 2015; 'Lesley Williams, 68, suffered racial discrimination as an Aboriginal mother raising three kids alone. Her daughter, Tammy, 37, is a barrister who has recorded her mum's stories for a new book ... ' -
Award Goes to Mother, Daughter
2016
single work
column
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 19 October no. 637 2016; (p. 26) 'Aboriginal mother and daughter writing team Lesley and Tammy Williams have been presented the Queensland Premier's Award for a Work of State Significance for their book Not Just Black and White. ...' -
Aboriginal Women's Life-History Writing, Settler Reading and Not Just Black and White
2022
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , 11 December vol. 37 no. 3 2022;'In a 2019 article in The Guardian, Gomeroi poet, essayist and legal scholar Alison Whittaker declared ‘Blak literature is in a golden age. Our white audiences, who are majorities in both literary industry and buying power, are deep in an unseen crisis of how to deal with it.’ This essay tries to understand what constitutes the crisis, how settler readers, like me, might see it and emerge from it, and what some of the stakes are. I consider the reading crisis in relation to the dominant model for reading testimonial literature established by Shoshana Felman and Dori Laub, which positions the reader/listener as empathetic co-owner of the speaker’s trauma and powerful enabler of their testimony. Following Libby Porter, I contend settlers can progress to ‘more mature ways of responding to the invitation to a sovereign relationship.’ I discuss three strategies settler readers can implement to this end: focus on the presence of the writer, position themselves as outsiders wanting to listen and recognise themselves as implicated subjects. I ground the discussion in the 2015 life-history text Not Just Black and White: A Conversation between a Mother and Daughter by Murri women Lesley Williams and Tammy Williams.' (Publication abstract)
Awards
- 2016 longlisted Kibble Literary Awards — Nita May Dobbie Award
- 2016 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Indigenous Writer's Prize
- 2016 winner Queensland Literary Awards — Queensland Premier's Award for a Work of State Significance
- 2014 winner Queensland Literary Awards — Unpublished Indigenous Writer : David Unaipon Award