"There was no thought that I could go to university," Professor Maynard said.

At age 40, he did a diploma at the University of Newcastle's Wollotuka Institute.

He progressed to a degree, then a PhD and became one of Australia's first Indigenous professors.

He has since written 12 books, spoken at Harvard University and discovered connections between Aboriginal and African-American political protests.

Professor Maynard has now been honoured with a new annual lecture series in his name. The John Maynard Aboriginal History Lecture will be devoted to Indigenous voices and truth-telling.

When he became a professor of Indigenous studies in 2006, he took up the position of director of Wollotuka, which aims to advance Indigenous education.

Professor Maynard said it was important to encourage young Indigenous people to study. He urges Aboriginal people to tell their stories and share their "proud histories".

"We need young qualified Aboriginal historians to put back the pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle," he said.

In his research, Professor Maynard discovered that his grandfather Fred Maynard and other early Aboriginal activists were members of the Garvey movement, which sought to unify and connect people of African descent worldwide.

"It was the biggest black movement ever formed in the United States. There was a branch in Sydney operational between 1920 and 1924," he said

This discovery led Professor Maynard to attract attention in the US, particularly from the African-American Studies Centre at Boston University.

Professor Maynard grew up in the Hunter, describing himself as "a Worimi fella from Port Stephens".

"My father was a top Aboriginal jockey. I wrote a book about Aboriginal jockeys. I grew up on the racecourse."

He also wrote a book about Aboriginal soccer players.

Access to sport for Aboriginal people in Australia highlighted the country's history of racism.

"We've seen that with the Adam Goodes experience. Rugby league is no different. And what's gone on with Collingwood and Aboriginal jockeys and boxers.

"We were denied for so long a presence on the sporting arena. It wasn't until the late '60s and '70s that football - both of those codes - opened their doors to Aboriginal players.

"You could count on two hands the number of players prior to that. Racism was prevalent. You scratch the surface today and it's still there."

He said the Black Lives Matter movement was "not something new for Indigenous Australia".

"As a historian, it is a continuation of the past. My work looked back to the rise of organised Aboriginal protests in the 1920s and connections with African-Americans. We certainly saw that again in the 1960s, where sources of inspiration were Malcolm X, Dr Martin Luther King and the Black Panthers.

"Those connections continued with a global response to what happened in the United States with Black Lives Matter."

This was highlighted through black deaths in custody in Australia and "the incredible rates of incarceration [of Aboriginal people] that are still prevalent in this country".

"Something drastic needs to be done in regards to that."

How to Move Forward

Aboriginal people are "born politicised", Emeritus Professor John Maynard says.

"That's the reality certainly for me. My connection to my grandfather standing up for Aboriginal rights was nearly 100 years ago now," he said.

Fred Maynard was president of the Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association, which formed in Sydney in 1924.

"It was operational in the public space until 1929. It was hounded out of existence by the police acting for the NSW Aboriginal Protection Board.

"In all respects, it was a police state for Aboriginal people during those times."

Professor Maynard said Aboriginal people could heal from the past, if the past was recognised and steps were taken to enable healing.

"It's only then that we can move forward to a just and equitable future for all Australians," he said.

"Look at the Uluru statement from the Heart. That's a staggeringly good step - a great step for the country to move forward together. Yet the government straight away turned that process down. It's tragic."