Cartoonist Bill Leak caused controversy last week when The Australian published one of his cartoons portraying an Aboriginal man as an alcoholic and unable to remember his son’s name.
But this isn’t the first time Bill Leak has published racist cartoons – he also caused controversy in the past with these offensive works.
The Australian defended its decision to publish the cartoon, with editor-in-chief Paul Whittaker releasing a statement saying that it has long been a publication that analyses crucial issues in Indigenous affairs.
“Too often, too many people skirt around the root causes and tough issues. But not everyone. Bill Leak’s confronting and insightful cartoons force people to examine the core issues in a way that sometimes reporting and analysis can fail to do.”
However the public was outraged by the stereotyping portrayed by the cartoon, and Indigenous people have come forward to celebrate and defend their dads by creating the hashtag, #Indigenousdads. Here are some of our favourite posts that show the love and sense of community that is part of Aboriginal culture:
The hashtag is a perfect example of how to counter hate with love, while still proving your point.
