Published: 30 Sep 2013
Kevin "Cookie" Cook was in the thick of the most important campaigns for Australian Indigenous rights for decades. But, "Cookie" always saw his personal story as a story of many--of a movement. Which is the theme of his just-published book that was launched with the support of, among many others, National Secretary Paddy Crumlin.
Crumlin joined hundreds of other well-wishers at Tranby Aboriginal College, which has played an important role in the struggle for the achievement of social justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, to launch "Making Change Happen: Black and White Activists talk to Kevin Cook about Aboriginal, Union and Liberation Politics" by Kevin Cook and Heather Goodall.
“Cookie has made great contributions in enhancing the struggles of our people. He is a motivator, an astute strategist, and an excellent communicator with wonderful people skills. It’s a pleasure to be able to call him a mate and a brother,” Crumlin declared on the book jacket itself.
In keeping with his vision that change happens because of movements, not one person, the theme of the book is not focused on one person but on the contributions made by people throughout the movement for Aboriginal rights.
Crumlin has also observed that Cook, "Cookie reached out to the anti-apartheid movement, the liberation movements and the anti-war movements, always seeking to find common ground and positions that united people around a cause, around a set of values and principles that we know guided his life and his work - the values of indigenous peoples and the labour movement."
Due to severe illness, Cook is confined to his bed but, thanks to technology, he joined the crowd via Skype, watching the proceedings and talking one-on-one to friends and colleagues.
