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Black Stars in a First for the Block

REDFERN is preparing for a brawl this week when the Indigenous Boxing Academy hosts Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boxers including former Rabbitoh Joe Williams reports Angus Street in the central of 11 February 2009.

The former league half-back has been training under Johnny Lewis for the past year, and after his debut bout last year against Thailand's "Sing Sor" Supakan, the welterweight is excited to bring boxing back to The Block.

"It's a fantastic way to bring the Redfern Indigenous community together, hopefully it will now become an annual event where we can celebrate together each year," Williams said.

The event, to take place this Friday, will also honour the first anniversary of Kevin Rudd's parliamentary apology to the stolen generations. Alex Wymarra, head of the Indigenous Sporting and Boxing Academy, said the boxing night was chosen to coincide with the one-year anniversary, "as we wanted to ensure we as a community celebrated this huge occasion together". The event, "Night of the Black Stars", will also feature 21-year-old superstar Cool Willie Kickett and Glebe's Edgar "Brown Sugar" Wymarra. In the amateur bouts, spectators will see hard-hitting Olympian Luke Boyd, Campbell Cobbo Riley and Jason Morris, Australian Indigenous middleweight champion.

"Its great to see something positive coming out of the Block - something we as a neighbourhood can all get behind and be proud of," Wymarra said.

"The Aboriginal boxing community at The Block has a rich history - boxing and culture have always brought our people together and given us a platform to show our skills and bravery."

The Redfern boxing night is part of a major community event to raise funds for the Indigenous Sporting Academy and Indigenous Boxing Academy.         

"Boxing changes lives and a formal program has already delivered great results in reaching out to youths at risk by providing them with focus, self-esteem and respect for their bodies," Wymarra said.

Source: Central 11 February 2009-02-20

 

REDWatch Note – On the same page as the above Article Central ran across the page some of their information blocks. In this case we thought we should repeat them with corrections (in bold italics)

The Block - The Block is a colloquial, but popular name given to a block of public housing in Redfern (the housing is owned by the Aboriginal Housing Company and not Housing NSW is hence not “public housing”).

Housing Project - The Block has been owned by the Aboriginal Housing Company since the 1970s, for use as a project in Aboriginal-managed housing.

Redfern Feature - The Block is probably the most famous feature of the suburb of Redfern, although it is located right near the western border of Darlington. (It is located to the western side of Redfern near the Eastern side of Darlington)