Stephen Hagan (author)

Stephen Hagan (born 1959) is an Australian author and anti-racism campaigner.[1] He is also a newspaper editor, documentary maker, university lecturer and former diplomat.[2]

Stephen Hagan
Born1959 (age 63–64)
Cunnamulla, Queensland, Australia
EducationMarist College Ashgrove
Alma materUniversity of Southern Queensland
Known forWriting, Aboriginal rights activism
SpouseRhonda Hagan
Children2

Early life and education

Hagan was born in 1959 in Cunnamulla in South West Queensland, Australia. His father, Jim Hagan, belonged to the Kullili people of the region, while his mother was from the nearby Kooma. Hagan spent his first seven years living on a camp on the outskirts of the town, before moving into a new house nearby; an experience that helped shape his perceptions of the socio-economic inequalities between the aboriginal population and white Australians.[3]

Success in high school led to an opportunity to attend boarding school at Marist College Ashgrove in Brisbane. From there he undertook training to become a teacher, but he reports that he became disillusioned with the system after being required to teach with "racist" texts.[3]

Career

After he left teaching to work with a number of Indigenous organisations, and through them he met and worked under Aboriginal activist Charles Perkins. From there he moved into the Department of Foreign Affairs, gaining a diplomatic post to Colombo in Sri Lanka.[3]

Upon returning to Australia he worked in both the public and private sectors, the latter including venturing into cultural tourism. More recently he lectured at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) in Toowoomba while undertaking a doctorate.[3]

In July 2010, Hagan became editor of the National Indigenous Times.[4] After promising to fix problems with plagiarism at the paper, Hagan left in December 2013. His suit for unfair dismissal was part of the reason the paper went into administration in 2015.[5]

Hagan was awarded a doctorate by USQ in 2016 for a thesis on judicial bias against Indigenous Australians.[6] The thesis was the base for his 2017 book, The Rise and Rise of Judicial Bigotry.[7]

In 2021, Hagan was appointed chief executive of the Townsville Aboriginal and Islander Health Services (TAIHS). His three-year contract was terminated after five months following a unanimous vote by the organisation's board. He subsequently launched an unfair dismissal case against TAIHS.[8]

Campaigns and incidents

E. S. "Nigger" Brown Stand

In 1999, Hagan visited the Clive Berghofer Stadium in Toowoomba, Queensland, and noticed a large sign declaring the name of the E. S. "Nigger" Brown Stand, which had been named after the 1920s rugby league player Edwin Stanley Brown – also known as "Nigger" Brown, possibly in response to his pale skin and blond hair.[9] This prompted a long campaign to have the stand renamed to remove the offending nickname.

Hagan unsuccessfully pursued the case before the High Court and the Federal Court of Australia, both of which rejected his claim.[10]

In 2003 Hagan v Australia was heard before the United Nations' Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). Hagan, the complainant, claimed the naming of the stand was discriminatory against him.[11] The committee recommended that Australia "take the necessary measures to secure the removal of the offending term from the sign".[12]

In 2008, the stand was demolished and the issue was resolved, and Toowoomba Sports Ground Inc agreed not to use the term in the future:[13] indeed they had given a similar undertaking in 1999.

As the dispute went through the courts Hagan was brought close to bankruptcy and received threats, according to his wife,[14] including letters claiming to be from the Ku Klux Klan.[15] As a result of these threats and for the sake of his family, Hagan says, he decided to move house.[16]

Coon cheese

In 2001, Hagan filed a complaint with the Advertising Standards Bureau after an advertisement for Coon cheese was broadcast during the Academy Awards.[17] In 2008 he stated his belief that the cheese was named after a racial epithet and called on its manufacturer to prove its claim that it was named after American cheesemaker Edward Coon.[18] This followed an earlier unsuccessful complaint to Australian Human Rights Commission in 1999.[19] When announced in 2020 by the brand owners, Saputo Inc., that the name would be changed in the wake of Australian participation in the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, Hagan declared that it was "a total vindication of 20 years of campaigning."[19] In December 2020, Hagan and Destiny Rogers from QNews published the e-book Coon: More Holes than Swiss Cheese.[20]

In 2021, Hagan commented on Lake Macquarie's council's intention of renaming Coon Island in Swansea. The island was named after a white local coalminer, Herbert Heany, who gained that nickname because of his blackened face when coming home from the mine. The council intended to start considerations about a new name in February 2021, but Hagan insisted it ought to be renamed immediately, without consultation.[21]

Toowoomba golliwogs

On 1 December 2016 Hagan caused controversy when he labelled Toowoomba the "most racist city in Australia"[22] after a display of nine golliwog dolls were placed by a Terry White Chemists shop underneath a sign[23] inviting shoppers to "Experience a White Christmas". The controversy began when Toowoomba man, author George Helon[22] spotted the dolls placed beneath the sign[24] and circulated a picture of it on Facebook[25] and Twitter.[26] The store's manager apologised and said they would not stock the dolls in the future.[26]

Coles Express

In June 2020, it was reported that Hagan would sue Coles Express for racial discrimination following an incident at a service station in Townsville where he was asked to pre-pay for fuel. He stated that two white drivers at the same time had not been required to do so.[27]

Carlton Football Club song

In 2021, Hagan urged the Carlton Football Club to change the tune of its club song, "We Are the Navy Blues". While admitting that the song's lyrics are not racially offensive, he objected to its melody, "Lily of Laguna", and the original and racist heritage of that melody. He said, "It took me 10 years to get the name of the stand changed and now I'm doing the same for another sporting club." The club, supported by several of its Indigenous players, said any racial connotations had been removed from the song 80 years ago and that the objectionable history of its melody was unlikely to have been known to the writers of the lyrics in 1929.[28]

Personal life

Hagan is married to Rhonda Hagan from the Mamu tribe; they have two children.[3]

Awards and nominations

Publications
  • Hagan, Stephen (2005). The N Word: One Man's Stand. Magabala Books. ISBN 978-1-875641-98-7. OCLC 60651773.
  • — (2006). Australia's Blackest Sporting Moments: The Top 100. Ngalga Warralu Publishing. ISBN 9781921212000.
  • — (2017). The Rise and Rise of Judicial Bigotry. Christine Fejo-King Consulting. ISBN 9780994382733. OCLC 1002924989.
  • with Rogers, Destiny (2020). Coon: More Holes than Swiss Cheese (e-book). Self via Smashwords. ISBN 9781005711894.

References
  1. "Indigenous activist Stephen Hagan". Law Report (Interview). Interviewed by Damien Carrick. ABC Radio National. 10 February 2009. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  2. "Stephen Hagan". ABC Online Indigenous: Your Voice. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 15 August 2008. Archived from the original on 1 January 2009. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  3. "Stephen Hagan". stephenhagan.net. Archived from the original on 28 August 2009. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  4. "USQ academic heads National Indigenous Times" by Jo-Ann Sparrow, University of Southern Queensland (14 July 2010) Archived 14 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Andrew Burrell (13 February 2015). "Push for National Indigenous Times". The Australian. The NIT's parent company, Destiny Publications was placed into voluntary administration last month over mounting legal bills sparked by an unfair dismissal case brought by former editor Stephen Hagan and a defamation case launched by former Fortescue Metals Group executive Michael Gallagher.(subscription required)
  6. "Doctorate shows race-based sentencing bias by judges" by Elouise Quinlivan, The Toowoomba Chronicle, 30 August 2016
  7. The Rise and Rise of Judicial Bigotry (1970), ISBN 9780994382733, at Trove.
  8. "Activist Stephen Hagan to sue TAIHS for $1m after being stood down five months into contract". ABC News. 24 December 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  9. O'Shea, Ben, ed. (14 January 2009). "Big wind over a little word". The West Australian. Archived from the original on 4 March 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  10. Morley, Peter (1 December 2002). "'Nigger' row over, UN told". The Sunday Mail. Brisbane, Australia. p. 36.
  11. Miles, Janelle (24 April 2003). "UN rules on 'Nigger' name". The Advertiser. Adelaide, South Australia. p. 28.
  12. United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Stephen Hagan v Australia, Communication No. 26/2002, UN Doc CERD/C/62/D/26/2002 (20 March 2003)
  13. Chilcott, Tanya (28 September 2008). "Toowoomba to drop 'Nigger' name from sports ground". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  14. Hagan, Rhonda. "Nigger Lovers". Creative Spirits. Archived from the original on 25 November 2009. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  15. "Summer Series 9: "Stephen Hagan"". Message Stick. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 29 January 2006. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  16. Campbell, Jim (26 September 2008). "Stephen Hagan seeks $10,000 for hurt, suffering". The Toowoomba Chronicle. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  17. "Oz row over 'Coon' cheese ad". South Africa: News24. 27 March 2001. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  18. Barbeler, David (26 September 2008). "Coon cheese next on anti-racism hit-list". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  19. "Australia's Coon cheese to change name in effort to help 'eliminate racism' ". The Guardian. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  20. "Cheese rebrand campaigner says he has copped abuse from Australian 'rednecks' " by Benedict Brook, news.com.au, 14 January 2021
  21. "Call to change Australian suburb’s 'racist' name" by Benedict Brook, news.com.au, 22 February 2021
  22. "White Christmas 'golliwog' display labelled racist". The Toowoomba Chronicle. 1 December 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  23. "Toowoomba accused by activists of being Australia's most racist city after chemist shop display". The New Zealand Herald. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  24. "Queensland chemist under fire for 'racist' golliwog display". Nine News. 1 December 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  25. "Offensive 'white Christmas' display sparks calls for Golliwog boycott in Australia". SBS Australia. 1 December 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  26. "Toowoomba accused by activists of being Australia's most racist city after chemist shop display Offensive 'white Christmas' display sparks calls for Golliwog boycott in Australia". The Courier-Mail. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  27. McKenna, Michael (6 June 2020). "Activist claims racism in pre-pay row at the servo". The Weekend Australian. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  28. "Campaigner who fought to get Coon cheese renamed calls on Carlton to change 'racist' theme song" by Benedict Brook, news.com.au, 10 April 2021
  29. "Stephen Hagan". AustLit. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
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