Cirrus@Austlit

'As one of Australia's foremost historians of Aboriginal Australia, Richard Broome's account of the principal Aboriginal activist organisation in twentieth century Victoria is presented with great skill, and with the profound respect due to its subjects. As Broome explains, another history of the Victorian Aborigines Advancement League (VAAL) was published thirty years ago that did not make use of the organisation's archive. Access to the VAAL's extensive archive is at the core of Broome's stated intention to portray Aboriginal agency in activism. The chronological narrative is contextualised with interviews, and comparisons with the North American black rights movement.' (Introduction)