Reviewing Race in the Digital Literary Sphere: A Case Study of Anita Heiss

Abstract

With head turned down and eyes raised in scepticism, Anita Heiss issues an unmistakeable challenge from the cover of her 2012 memoir: Am I Black Enough for You?. The reader, in turn, is drawn into the ugly cultural and racial politics that characterise life for many Aboriginal Australians. Awarded the 2012 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Indigenous Writing and nominated for the 2012 Human Rights Award for Literature, Heiss’ memoir has its genesis in the 2011 court case Eatock vs. Bolt. In a syndicated article entitled ‘It’s So Hip To Be Black’, Herald Sun journalist Andrew Bolt accused Heiss, along with several other prominent Aboriginal Australians, of choosing to identify as Aboriginal for financial gain. He was subsequently found guilty of racial discrimination under Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA). Justice Bromberg’s application of the RDA would push questions about protections from vilification, freedom of speech, journalistic integrity and the alleged ‘right to be a bigot’ onto the public agenda from 2011 to 2016.