Kathy Freeman A Revolutionary Sister & 2000
400 Meter Women's Olympic Gold Medal
Winner & A Link To Our Buddhist History

If you by chance were watching the summer Olympics the night of September 25, 2000 you might have had
the pleasure to watch Australian athlete of the year Ms. Kathy Freeman win her Gold Medal. Ms. Freeman
is an Australian Aboriginal and she is the first Aboriginal person to win a Gold Medal. Many might ask the
question as to what does an Aboriginal person winning a Gold Medal have to do with Buddhism and the
“Proud Black Buddhist” Website? For those who ask the question what does Kathy Freeman has a lot to do
with Buddhism and the “Proud Black Buddhist Website. Kathy Freeman is what White people call an
Aboriginal. During my visit to Australia I learned that our Brothers and Sisters in Australia like to be called
Kooris and not Aboriginal.

About 30,000 to 50,000 years ago Black people moved from Africa migrating all over the world. The first
inhabitants of India were a group of Ethiopians know as “Negritos”. The second element or groups to come
to India from Africa were the “Proto-Australoid” or what white people call Australian Aboriginal. The mixture of the “Negrito” and the “Proto-Australoid” make up a group in India called the “Dravidians” who were the first inhabitants of India. The people in Australia and the Tamil speaking people in India today are one and the same people.

All you have to do is look at Kathy Freeman and you know in your heart that she is a sister. What is more
amazing about this sister is that she has a heart for her people. In Australia the so called Aboriginal people
are treated with a horrible racist system worst than that in America.

In 1990 I had the opportunity to defend my “World Superheavyweight Kickboxing Title” in Melbourne,
Australia against a local Greek, Australian by the name of “Stan Longinistas”. Australia was the most
interesting place that I have ever visited and next to Africa the people treated me with kindness. In Australia
I was not only treated kind but as a Black man in Australia I was treated with the dignity and respect of a
White man. In Australia I was not a Black man, instead I was a man among White people and the people
were never bothered by my skin color.

During my Australian visit I had an interest in meeting the “Aboriginal” people and when I went to the Gym to train at the boxing gym, the gym was in the poorest section or the Ghetto section of town where the
“Aboriginal” people lived. The “Aboriginal” plight was like a combination of the Native American and
Ghetto. The Aboriginal community was plagued with disillusionment, despair, anger and the people lacked
hope and they gravitated to alcoholism and their fate was worst than that of African/Americans 60 years ago.

During my Australian visit the Australian people gave us the royal treatment and my friend Shaka who worked my corner who is also a Buddhist and myself made the decision to walk with the Kooris people. We gave up the life of luxury and walked with our Brothers and Sisters and we learned first hand of their struggle. When I entered the ring on national Australian television I was flanked by at lease 40 “Aboriginal” youth carrying an “Aboriginal Flag.  Never can I ever forget the pride and dignity the youth had in their eyes when their big-brother from America stood with them for their cause for freedom and justice. The next day after the fight at a news conference a White Australian angrily asked me how could I insult them by parading a Kooris flag in their country in light of the fact of how kind they were to us. I admit in my heart that I enjoyed the kind treatment however there  is no way I could come to Australia and be White knowing that in America I am just a “Nigger” to many  White people. How could I possibly live well in Australia knowing my brothers and sisters are treated badly? Australia was a joy knowing that I as an African/American can be treated with dignity. On the other hand Australia was a pain knowing the plight of my people in “down under”.  When I allowed the Kooris to parade an Aboriginal flag White people got upset at me in Australia. Ten Years later the Australian Athlete of the Year Kathy Freeman paraded the Flag where the whole world can see it.  In the 1960's heavyweight Boxing Champion Muhammad Ali was a source of pride for Black people worldwide. Today we have a Tiger Woods, the Williams Sisters in Tennis and now we have a Proud Kathy Freeman who is determined to help set the record straight.
On Monday night September 25, 2000 the Television was on and I was asleep when I heard the announcer
shouting Cathy Freeman! Cathy Freeman! In the race was a sister from America who was second but in my
heart I pulled for Cathy Freeman. When Kathy Freeman paraded around the track with the Australian flag
along with an Aboriginal flag I was proud not only for Cathy Freeman but I was proud for all Kooris people.

The next morning I woke up thinking about Australia and Kathy Freeman wondering why I loved her so
much. After researching her I learned that her birthday is the same as the “True Buddha” Nichiren
Daishonin on February 16th. Kathy Freeman is using her media exposure to fight the “Injustice” against her
people. For us at the Proud Black Buddhist Website when we talk of Buddhist history and we speak of the
Black people from India we know that Kathy Freeman is a Dravidian that we read about in Buddhism. It is
difficult to picture what an Australian Aboriginal look like but when we think of an Aboriginal we have the
picture of Kathy Freeman in our hearts and mind.





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