Dr Roberta Sykes and Naomi

Roberta Sykes (1943–2010), writer and activist, grew up in Townsville and moved to Sydney in the mid-1960s. She became involved in the Aboriginal rights movement in the lead up to the landmark 1967 referendum and was the first secretary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in 1972. Sykes subsequently worked as a freelance journalist, as well as writing poetry. She also worked as a health educator at the Aboriginal Medical Service in Redfern and as an advisor on Aboriginal health and education to the NSW Health Commission. In 1981, at the age of 38, she went to Harvard University, completing her PhD in 1983. She then became a consultant to government agencies, including the Commonwealth Office of the Aged, the NSW Department of Corrective Services, and those involved in the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. The founder of the Black Women's Action in Education Foundation, Sykes published nine books, including two anthologies of poetry and the three-volume autobiography, collectively titled Snake Dreaming (1997–1999), which won many awards including the Age Book of the Year and the National Biography Award. Sykes won the Australian Human Rights Medal in 1994.

This image of Roberta and her daughter Naomi was taken by Juno Gemes at the 1994 National Poetry Festival in Melbourne.

Gift of the artist 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
© Juno Gemes/Copyright Agency, 2024