Tears smudging the traditional Aboriginal paint on his face, Williams delivered a speech pregnant with poignancy and power on Monday night.

Accepting his Wagga Australia Day citizen of the year trophy, Williams said the nation’s inability to reconcile its historical divide between black and white remained a scar on its soul.

And it came just days after he publicly denounced Australia Day, calling for the date to be changed to respect the sensitivities of an Indigenous minority.

In light of his remarks, should Joe Williams have been made our Australia Day top citizen? That’s a matter of opinion.

Was he being hypocritical in accepting an Australia Day award on the same night he refused to stand for the national anthem? Probably.

But that debate misses the larger point.

Williams’ comments speak to a higher truth about the heartbreakingly real experience of Indigenous Australians past and present.

Adam Goodes’ courageous stand and Kevin Rudd’s important 2008 apology were not watershed moments in black and white relations. They were mere circuit breakers.

True reconciliation will only be realised when both white and black Australia truly believe in it.

Closing the gap on health, poverty and education would be a colossal leap towards reconciliation, but equality is about so much more than that. Equality is about acceptance.

It’s about looking beyond the pigment of a person’s skin and seeing Indigenous Australians as one of us, as an integral part of our national character and our community. And that’s not being felt by most people in Wagga.

It is up to Indigenous leaders like Williams, as well as us, to steer reconciliation by leading the way as role models and injecting confidence into their community.

Reconciliation is not just a symbol. It’s an ongoing process, a relationship, a commitment from white Australia to shrug off the cloak of racism and work slowly towards equality.

It’s about fairness and decency; such important parts of the Australian character. And it must be driven by all of us.