Declaring the Australian dream "rooted in racism", Grant told a conference last October the legacy of Australia's dark past continues today, citing the lower life expectancy and higher rates of incarceration still experienced by Indigenous Australians. 

Out of the clear blue sky, a leader was born.

Despite years as a prominent commercial TV journalist, and even a stint at CNN, the speech positioned Grant as an Indigenous voice of rare clarity and courage.

Born in Griffith, Grant has always been a proud Wiradjuri man, but rarely had he made such a public foray into the reconciliation debate.

He is now being touted as a future political leader, a title that seems to sit comfortably with him.

The recently appointed Indigenous affairs chairman at CSU, Grant was in Wagga on Wednesday, pressing the flesh with staff and students.

Speaking to The Daily Advertiser, Grant supported calls for the Wiradjuri language to be taught in local schools.

While it shouldn’t be compulsory, he said, it should be widely available.

Many in Wagga will see his call as a provocative one.

Whether we’re prepared to confront it or not, deep pockets of racism still exist in our community.

But throw off the cloak of racism and Grant’s comments make more sense.

Wiradjuri is our region’s first language.

It’s crucial that Indigenous locals, especially the youth, have the sense of connection with their past language can bring.

And learning parts of the language would give the rest of us a greater connection to such an important native culture.

You can’t force tolerance on people. But you can help foster understanding, and learning more about Aboriginal culture would do precisely 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 simply not being felt by most people in Wagga.

Accepting more Indigenous culture into our schools, and into our hearts, is an important step to redressing that.

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