Uncle Jack Charles will be joining us for storytelling and a yarn with Koorie Pride Victoria, in honour of Wear It Purple Day 2022. Register below for this free event hosted on zoom.
Special Guest Uncle Jack Charles
Listen to Uncle Jack Charles and Koorie Pride Victoria yarn about the experiences and stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTIQA+ people, including Sistergirls and Brotherboys, particularly in relation to mental health and suicide prevention
About Uncle Jack Charles:
Uncle Jack Charles is a Bunurong and Wiradjuri man, and a member of the Stolen Generations. He grew up in the Salvation Army Boys' Home at Box Hill, Melbourne as the only Aboriginal child, not knowing his heritage until the age of 17.
Uncle Jack Charles is the NAIDOC 2022 Male Elder of the Year.
Uncle Jack is widely acknowledged as the grandfather of Indigenous theatre, co-founding Australia’s first Indigenous theatre group, Nindethana, meaning ‘place of corroboree’, or ‘ours’, at Melbourne’s Pram Factory in 1971. His plays and performances have won many awards over the years, and have toured across Australia and internationally. He is a respected Elder on the Council of the Archie Roach foundation, and a tireless advocate for young men caught up in the prison system.
He made history this year as the first Indigenous Elder to speak at the Victorian Truth-telling Commission. The Yoorrook Commission will establish official record of Indigenous experiences since colonisation, and Uncle Jack spoke honestly and with raw emotion about his experiences. Uncle Jack is a beloved Elder, and, as he describes himself – a survivor.
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About Switchboard:
Switchboard Victoria is a community based not for profit organisation that provides peer driven, support services for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and gender diverse, intersex, queer, asexual (LGBTIQA+) communities and their allies, friends, support workers and families. Switchboard is a community-controlled organisation which means that all our members identify as part of LGBTIQA+ communities.
About Koorie Pride Victoria:
Koorie Pride Victoria is helping build visibility, strength and connection for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander LGBTIQAS&B+ people - our beautiful Rainbow Mob - across all of Victoria. You can find more here: https://www.kooriepridevic.org.au/
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Acknowledgement of Country
Switchboard Victoria is based on the lands of the Yaluk-ut Weelam clan of the Boon Wurrung peoples.
We acknowledge that our work takes place on lands that are under colonial occupation and that sovereignty has never been ceded. We hope to pay our deepest respects to Boon Wurrung elders, past and present, and wish to extend this respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People across this Country we know as Australia