Not Just Black and White

by Lesley Williams, Tammy Williams

Lesley Williams is forced to leave Cherbourg Aboriginal Settlement and her family at a young age to work as a domestic servant. Apart from a bit of pocket money, Lesley never sees her wages – they are kept ‘safe’ for her and for countless others just like her. She is taught not to question her life, until desperation makes her start to wonder, where is all that money she earned? So begins a nine-year journey for answers which will test every ounce of her resolve. Inspired by her mother’s quest, a teenage Tammy Williams enters a national writing competition. The winning prize takes Tammy and Lesley to Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch and ultimately to the United Nations in Geneva. Told with honesty and humor, Not Just Black and White is an extraordinary memoir about two women determined to make sure history is not forgotten.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Australia, Audiobook, Indigenous, Historical, Book Club

462 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2015

About the author

I am a teaching assistant for primary age children and I love to write.
I have two daughters, Tasha, who is also a writer and Saskia, who is at secondary school. Also a husband, Carl, one dog, Toby and tow kittens, Edgar Poe and Eleanor Poe (who only has one eye)

Reviews

[Michael Livingston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coincidentally found myself finishing this on Australia/Invasion Day, which made it particularly poignant. This joint (auto-)biography tells the story of Lesley Williams life - from the strictly controlled Cherbourg community, through jobs forced upon her by the bureaucracy tasked with 'protecting' her, to the struggle through the 80s and 90s to gain access to pay that had been kept from her for decades. It's a sad but warm book, with moments of dreadful pain and amazing successes - the intertextual conversation between the two authors (mother & daughter) is sweet and the little moments where they react to each others' writing were my favourite parts of the book. It's not perfect by any means, but it's a necessary, engaging and uplifting book - I wouldn't be at all surprised to see it on the Stella longlist.

[Townsend the Wonder Hamster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this book in a public library a few months ago, & decided on a whim to read it. Am so glad I did.

It's a plain-speaking yet somehow lyrical book (maybe due to the way un-self-pitying way Lesley Williams writes about her difficult past) about one indigenous woman's life: first growing up on an aboriginal mission (where there was rationing, inadequate accommodation, & frequent inspections by white overseers), & then in forced service in the 1960s to white masters/mistresses, and then as a wife and family matriarch, & chasing down the mystery of what happened to her wages which had been "held" for her by the Australian government. She had it tough, & her story is almost an archetype of those of so many indigenous people still alive today.

You'd think daughter Tammy, born in the 1970s, would have lived in a more enlightened, less racist time--hell, no. Tammy's own account tells how, even just 20-30 years ago, she experienced discrimination. This is the story of Australia--the one that probably not many non-indigenous people know &/or want to think about.

I knew almost nothing about indigenous people's lives in missions, about how they were forcibly removed from their families, about how they often didn't receive wages they were entitled to. And these are just a few of the things people like Lesley Williams experienced and survived. Around the time of reading the book, I happened also to see the film "Rabbit-Proof Fence". Boy, were that & this book a double-whammy.

"Not just Black and White" is a great book that should become an Australian classic. Thank you to the two Ms Williamses for writing it!

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnificent. Edifying, terrifying, beautiful. Such open, honest and personal storytelling. Some books draw you in and make you feel cosy. Others, like this, demand your attention and insist that you stay, no matter the cost.

I am forever grateful to the authors for sharing this story with me.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again Twitter brings me news of a great book to read! Thanks to @UQPbooks, I discovered yesterday that the 2014 winner of the David Unaipon Award has just been released. And when I realised what it was about, I just had to have it… Yes, *blush* I succumbed to buying it for my Kindle, so that I could begin reading it straight away.


Many would agree that “a fair day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay”, and that whether you’re black or white, everyone should get paid for their labour,’ […] Not to receive all of your wages or savings for an honest day’s work is an injustice for any worker, regardless of skin colour.

Not Just Black and White by Lesley Williams and Tammy Williams, University of Queensland Press, 2015, Kindle locations 3449-3456.

I had heard a little bit about the ‘stolen wages’ scandal in Queensland, but I didn’t know much about it. Not Just Black and White puts a human face on the issue. Lesley Williams was one of the thousands of Aboriginals farmed out to work unpaid, under the auspices of so-called Protection:


Probably, one of the more infamous pieces of legislation introduced by the Queensland authorities was the Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897 (Qld). This Act created the positions of Protectors of Aboriginals, and in 1904, the Office of the Chief Protector of Aboriginals.

The 1897 Act and the subsequent amending Acts of 1901, 1927, 1928 and 1934 gave the Chief Protector of Aboriginals, as well as the individual Protectors, enormous control over almost all aspects of the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Queensland, and vast quantities of records were created on the thousands of individuals who were subject to this legislation.

See State Library of Queensland

Far from the stereotypical view of Aborigines being welfare dependants, these Aborigines who worked as stockmen, shearers and labourers, or as domestic servants, as Lesley Williams did, contributed to the development of Australian pastoral and agricultural industries for over a century, under a system which sequestered the wages of the Aborigines. Under this system, girls like Lesley were trained for domestic labour at the Cherbourg Mission and as teenagers were sent away from their families to work. Under the terms of the contract, in which Lesley had no say, it was up to the discretion of her employer to pay ‘pocket money’ and the rest was, by law, required to be deposited as ‘savings’ in a state-owned bank account. But no passbook was issued, and none of the ‘savings’ were ever returned to the person who’d earned them.

To read the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2015/09/06/no...

[Julie Swann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful book but also made me quite angry. The basic right of receiving your pay for doing your job not afforded to these aboriginal people and the lies told to them is very sad. Lesley Williams is a very brave, tenacious woman with a beautiful heart.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

This relatively straightforward joint memoir stays engaging as it evolves along with the lives of its authors. The first part of the memoir is dominated by Lesley, as she describes growing up under the Aboriginal Protectorate in Queensland, having little control over basic aspects of her own life, including her own money. As Lesley marries, the world moves on, and Tammy grows into a world marked with the rhetoric of equality, and a reality of racism.
The book takes quite a different tone with Tammy's win of a trip to Michael Jackson's Heal the World seminar, which leads to an opportunity to address the World Congress of Children, and then the UN. This was a deeply engaging section for me, as the relationship between Lesley and Tammy shapes what they gain from these experiences. You see the impact on Tammy of having a strong mother. But you also see the impact on Lesley of having a daughter whose confidence and expectations have not been as constrained as hers were as a teenager. I saw the impact on both of them of meeting other Indigenous, Black and people colour from around the world. This relationship is supportive is such a layered way, it was a welcome reminder of the ways women support each other, because in doing so, they themselves are sustained.
The third section of the memoir covers Lesley's struggle to get her wages back, and was for me the least engaging. Not because of the subject matter - actually the reality that the Queensland government stole hundreds of millions of dollars of Aboriginal savings, returning only a small fraction of compensation, is one that could be better understood. (Especially in a state in which many residents are under the mistaken impression that being Aboriginal gets you extra government money). However, the memoir style here worked less well for me, providing only one slice of a broader story involving more players and perspectives.
All up, really glad to have read this one. Recommended.

*Read for the 2019 Pop Sugar Ultimate Reading Challenge #21 A book by two female authors.

[Natalie]

I'm not going to rate this. But I found that very insightful, heartbreaking and inspiring.

[Cass Moriarty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very excited to be reviewing this next book, Not Just Black and White: a conversation between a mother and daughter, written by Lesley and Tammy Williams, and published by UQP. I had the honour of speaking alongside Lesley and Tammy at a recent Mary Ryan's book club event, and wow, are they inspirational, down-to-earth, funny, and engaging. And this book - written in two voices, as a conversation between the two women - reflects these attributes. This is the story of how Lesley was forced to leave Cherbourg Aboriginal Settlement - and her family - to become a domestic servant for white families. It is the story of how her 'wages' - and those of countless other Indigeneous people - were kept 'safe' for her in a government account, to which she had no access or control. It's the story of how her curiousity about this money eventually led her to ask questions of the highest 'bigwigs' in the land, and even to speak with international authorities. It is a shameful story of Australia's past, but it is not told with bitterness or anger. Rather, Lesley - and her daughter, Tammy, now a barrister - share their lives with inspiration and hope. Their journey takes years, and costs them both financially and emotionally. Tammy's eloquent feelings about racism and inequity win her a trip to Michael Jackson's 'Neverland Ranch', and both women find friendship and encouragement in places - and some people - from whom they least expect it. This is an important story that should be required reading for all Australians. It exposes many of the sterotypes and racist attitudes towards the people of our Indigeneous heritage, and shines a microscope on how Aborginals have been treated over the years, by governments and by white Australians. It also provides a welcome and positive view of Indigeneous life in the 50's, 60's and 70's, demonstrating bonds of love for extended family, respect for Elders, and a tradition of hard work and providing for others. It touches on the problems faced by these communities, and how individuals and groups have fought hard to overcome these difficulties. But perhaps most of all, it is a story about a mother and a daughter, about their love and concern and protectiveness for each other, and about how they each helped the other to develop and grow, despite the odds. Uplifting and warm, informative and thought-provoking, this is a story for us all.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why are books by indigenous authors so difficult to read? Because, growing up, I had no idea that the Aboriginal race was so discriminated. I do remember the constitutional changes, which I was too young to have a vote for, and I remember being shocked that this would give Aboriginal people a right to Australian citizenship. I had just assumed they already had it. Was it my parents’ bigotry that kept me in the dark? I don’t think so. I think they too were in the dark and believed that the government was caring for and helping Aboriginals to live a healthy and full life. Why were we so far removed from the truth?

The other disturbing thing is that Lesley was not that much older than my big sister. They could have met in Brisbane city, if only Lesley has been allowed to shop where my sister worked. And Tammy is not that much older than my daughter who was never a witness to any such racial discrimination that Tammy faced. Maybe that was only because of a lack of indigenous students at her school. I had no idea such discrimination was rampant in the 80s.

But what a wonderful story of striving through adversity and becoming the best person you possibly can be though. Congratulations to the family, but especially Lesley, whose love and compassion and forgiveness and encouragement never faltered in the most trying and unfortunate circumstances. I salute her, and, I am truly sorry.

I was not keen on the two authors and jumping from mother’s to daughter’s commentary. But I understand how Tammy needed to encourage Lesley through the writing process and I guess it did give us a more intimate view of family circumstances.

[Maree Kimberley · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Queensland, Australia, up until the 1970s, our First Nations peoples had their lives controlled by so-called 'Protection Acts'. Almost every aspect of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' lives was controlled by government officials, including marriage, school, employment and housing.

'Not Just Black and White' is the personal story of Lesley Williams, who grew up in Cherbourg, Queensland under the Acts. Told in tandem with her daughter, Tammy, this engaging memoir covers Lesley's experiences as a young Aboriginal woman making her way in a world where all the rules were set up for her to fail. Despite the restrictions on her life, and the difficulties which she had to struggle through as a young widow raising three children with limited resources, Lesley's story is one of resilience, persistence and determination.

The book unfolds as a conversation between mother and daughter, which adds a dynamism to the text as each responds to events and experiences in their own way. There is a powerful honesty in the book, as mother and daughter respond to each others' revelations, and come to terms with patterns in their lives that reveal their individual strengths and weaknesses.

This is a real page-turner, both entertaining and sobering, which sheds light on a section of Australian history many people know nothing about with insight, wit and grace. Highly recommended.

[Susie Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book for my mother who also had an Aboriginal woman helping her in the house during the 1960s in Brisbane. I met the authors at a Mary Ryan lunch in Brisbane and was impressed with their attitudes towards life. They rose to the many challenges that society and life threw at them, and through grit and determination mixed with tolerance and very strong values these women and their family have achieved more than many of us. The book, plainly written by this mother and daughter team tells of Lesley's early life at the Cherbourg Aboriginal Settlement living under the Protection Act. Lesley talks of working and not receiving the monies retained by the Queensland Government and of how later in life, having raised her children on her own, she and the children went on to challenge and win her case for recognition of what was done and reparation. Through out this story Lesley and her family demonstrate how they overcame discrimination and racism and prove themselves as individuals that anyone would be proud to have as their friend.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

For such strong subject, this book is quite understated. From a time where Indigenous Australians were held in detainment camps, having to ask governmental permission for most basic life decisions and were forced to be hired out in a form of slavery (or indentured servitude at best), it didn't quite convey the really horror of that. There were some bad episodes, and some more terrible ones were hinted at, but not told. It does seem that Lesley got lucky and found a caring employer to take her through most of the years until their treatment started to change.

Perhaps the understatement is a bit of how somebody reacts to that treatment, had no real power over it so just gets on with things. But it is a good eyewitness introduction to some Australian history that doesn't seem to be very well covered. Shocking that as recently as the 60s, they were still treated as sub-human and essentially as slave labour.

Quite an easy and compelling read. I wanted a little bit more out of it but I'm happy with what I got.

[Emily Craven · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant, honest and eye opening book that doesn't read like a biography but a conversation between you, Aunty Leslie and Tammy. The story is one of the most engagingly written I've come across, and I normally give up on historical books part way through. This was history I was never taught in school and it makes me so angry that something like this would happen in the state I live but is never acknowledged. Leslie and Tammy's story is eye opening and has really given me an insight into aboriginal people, the struggles they face as a legacy of what was done to them and how they view/interact with other white people in the country (which as a white person I had never understood but wish I'd known sooner, so much damage has been done and I certainly don't want to be part of the problem but a solution). It's made me want to seek out other aboriginal histories and books by aboriginal writers. And hopefully help enable and empower aboriginal writers in my own publishing endeavours. This should be required reading in every Australian school. Highly recommend.

[Robin Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Not Just Black and White, an autobiography by mother and daughter team, Lesley and Tammy Williams. Lesley bravely and openly talks about what growing up as an Aboriginal girl was like in the 1950’s and 1960’s, and how she changed from a timid girl into a powerful woman. The true story of overcoming barriers, in a country that has treated our indigenous people horrendously, is extremely moving and Lesley’s voice is rich and real. She cleverly manages to tell her story without alienating a white audience.

Although her real-life story of success against the odds is equally impressive, I didn’t find Tammy’s voice as compelling. I wonder if Tammy convinced her mother to tell her story by proposing they write the book together. Whatever the strategy, a significant and remarkable story has been documented.

Not Just Black and White exposes Australia’s hidden history and celebrates human courage and resilience.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a powerful, confronting and haunting true story of the lived experience of indigenous Australians in our life time. Told by Lesley Williams and her daughter Tammy. This story is told as a life narration in a very honest, no frills just the facts, way that will leave white Australians ashamed and bewildered as to how such archaic and discriminatory policies, legislation and attitudes could occur in our lifetime. I thought I had a sold knowledge of indigenous history until I read this book. It has deepened my understanding, my compassion and my call for justice for our indigenous Australians. This book should be compulsory reading for people who want to understand the pathway to current indigenous grief and pain.

[Malvina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lesley Williams, a Murri Elder, has had an incredibly hard fight in life. As an Indigenous worker who had her wage and savings controlled by past governments, she campaigned for this money to be delivered back to the people who earned it. In 2002 the Queensland State Government finally delivered a reparation settlement. But this book isn't just about Lesley's fight for financial justice, it is far more. Written by herself and daughter Tammy, it details the far greater fight for simple survival, equality and education when the odds were stacked against them. I salute them. Amazing women who've helped shape the Australian nation for the better.

[Alexandra Daw · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a great book on so many levels. I loved that it was mother and daughter talking to each other and sharing their stories and views of shared events in their lives. Yes, it was a family history but so much more than that. It was a story of discovery; self-discovery as much as discovery about family history and a nation's black history. Above all it was inspiring. Go on. Read it.

[Lyn Ambrose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lesley and Tammy Williams, two inspirational aboriginal women, have written this book in a mother and daughter conversational style.

It is the true story of Lesley Williams an aboriginal mother of three children who grew up in the middle of the twentieth century under the Aboriginal Protection Act in Cherbourg settlement in rural Queensland. Lesley's elderly grandmother was the guardian of nine grandchildren, including Lesley, while also working as a laundress at the settlement. The superintendent of the settlement and white officials controlled the lives of all aboriginals living in Cherbourg. Work was performed for small change with the Queensland State Government keeping the remainder of the workers' wages “safe”.

Lesley is forced to leave the settlement and her family at a young age to work as a rural domestic servant on a property in South Australia. Her wages are paid into the government's safe keeping for years.

Lesley eventually marries and has three children but is widowed at a young age. Calling on her tenacity and strength she raises her three children and as she becomes more desperate she decides to fight for the wages she is due. This quest takes her nine years during which time her daughter Tammy wrote a winning letter in the Michael Jackson Heal the World competition. Lesley was then able to accompany her daughter and attend the World Children's Congress at Michael Jackson's Neverland and ultimately she presents the facts to the United Nations in Geneva. For Lesley and Tammy luck and good fortune played a small role. It was their vision and hard work that made the difference.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about strong women, Australian history, family and justice. I was very unaware of what life in Cherbourg involved even though I am only five years younger than Lesley. The book provides little known historical facts interwoven in a book that espouses the strong bonds that tie families and 'mobs' together and achieving the unachievable.

[Salomé · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful and enlightening conversation between mother and daughter. It's not often that mother's share so much of their lives with their daughters and it was amazing to see this in book form.
Remarkably there is hardly any blame placed on anyone in this autobiography in form of a conversation, but it highlights just how much discrimination and suffering Lesley went through in her formative years. Tammy, her daughter, was blessed with amazing opportunities which she never took for granted and used to grow herself and spread knowledge of the Aboriginal people's plight in Australia. This book educated me on the hardships faced by many Indigenous Australians and helped me somewhat understand their culture and way of life. Living in Australia, it's easy to pass judgement with so little knowledge of history and culture. Thank you Lesley and Tammy Williams for sharing your incredible journey with us.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I 'discovered' this book because of a talk given by Lesley Williams about her childhood at Cherbourg. I grew up in regional Queensland and am the same age as Lesley. When she started talking I was stunned to understand the difference skin colour made in that era. It was the difference between living as free citizens like my family and forebears, or living under the Stasi-like regime of the Aboriginal Protection Act imposed on Lesley and her forebears. Even the hard-earned income of generations of her family, and that of all the other residents, was taken away and invested elsewhere by the Queensland government. Lesley herself was so charming and personable I wanted to read her book, and 'Not just black and white' is like her, intelligent, observant, devastatingly truthful and immensely interesting.

[Cel Jel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book helped me understand why the healing of wounds is so complex. The main story is of the mother growing up in the era of Aboriginal missions, and the restrictions on life caused by the white overseers. Within each chapter the daughter responds to her mothers story, making an observation based on an event in her life related to her mother, or with her own life experiences.
The two had the chance to travel to the US and also to Europe under very different circumstances, and due to these experiences developed further in their fight for their people.
I highly recommend this book to those who want to learn more about lives that are very different from their own. I grew up in suburban Melbourne and had no idea.

[Tanu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew this would be a 5-star read. It's an emotional dialogue between mother and daughter told in unflinching, honest detail. She describes a childhood that, although it was filled with warm family love and incredible courage, was also a consequence of Indigenous people's relegation to chattel slavery. So far from the source, it is almost hard to believe that such atrocities took place, but, of course, there they are in chilling black and white. Lesley's childhood and adulthood are recounted in equally candid detail, with straightforward narration of both the compassionate people she met and the hardships she faced.

Every Australian should read this book. Every non-Australian as well, come to that.

[Bec · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coincidentally a few months ago I had a conversation with an indigenous friend about how the camps such as the one described in this book came to be. Although not the main topic of the book, this book opened my eyes to some of the hardships the first nations people experienced all due to their skin colour.. It has given me greater understanding of media releases surrounding the lost wages that I never truly understood nor grasped the road it took to get them paid.
An easy read from both mother and daughter perspectives.

[Greg Joffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book that every Australian should read

I am honoured to work with Rodney Williams, and when asking him about his family he mentioned that his mother and sister had written a book. I bought it. Little did I realise how interesting this book would be. It talks about growing up under the Aboriginal Protectorate through to the success of each of the Williams children. it covers Leslie’s decade long campaign for redress for not being paid her salary whilst working as a domestic for white households, and also her development as a leader. What an amazing family.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished: 20.05.2019
Genre: memoir
Rating: B+
#AWW2019
Conclusion:
It has only been in the last generations
…that Aboriginal writers have been published.
They now are able to tell their stories, their truths.
#ReadDiversity
Update: Read 80 books in 20 weeks...whew!

My Thoughts

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 such an interesting format

[Tracy Smyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read of one woman’s struggle to receive monies she was owed from when she had worked.

[Leonie Recz · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF but learnt a lot of our traditional peoples and the treatment they received by the invaders and the continuing discrimination.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal story and so enlightening about Cherbourg's history.