You signed the quilt…now what?

It’s been great to receive messages, emails and calls from people asking questions or sharing their experiences around this quilt for Kevin Henry. It means people have actively consider Kevin’s story and engaged in their own understanding before adding their name in support of Kevin.

Thank you to all who have reached out with questions and to those who have given their name in support of Kevin.

For some, it hasn’t felt right to sign the quilt for Kevin without taking further action.

So, what can you do next…….?

For me Amy McQuire, Martin Hodgson and Debbie Kilroy have been instrumental in educating me on the realities of Kevin’s story..

If you have the means Donate consistently. This helps Amy & Martin continue with Kevin’s exoneration process. Kevin would be the first ‘living’ Indigenous Australian to be exonerated in QLD.

Talk to people about Kevin Henry, his story and what the invisibility around this story means on a larger scale for Indigenous Peoples.

Pause, reflect and allow these learnings to settle into your nervous system. Check what you need to do to support yourself so you can continue showing up? ‘My Grandmother’s Hands’ has some great somatic practices.

I came across this quote recently “We can not shame ourselves into change, we can only love ourselves into evolution.” - Dr J.K. Reverend Angel Kyodo Williams and Tara Brach talk about this in their interview “Facing the Truths that keep us from Love”. It’s an hour long and offers an accessable understanding of this work.

Start! Find your way. Ask questions. you’re guaranteed to get things wrong & make mistakes. I certainly have …. and still continue to unfortunately. Our colonial history & socialisation make it inevitable that we’ll stumble. Don’t let the stumbling stop you.

There are so many wonderful resources out there. Curtain The Podcast as a start, Blood on the Tracks: What happened to Mark Hains Podcast, Kadija Gdla has this list. Yarn have this , Peppermint Magazine , Mia Muse “The work of White People in Dismantling Racism.” ….. & so on.

Take the time to build your own resources. Read, listen, watch. Then pause, reflect and be willing to act. I once read a line in Dumbo Feather (but can’t for the life of me remember who the interviewee was) that said “it won’t be politicians who make change, it will be passionate people.” It stuck with me. It is also everyday people, like you and me, who affect change when we take action.

53 names have been added to the quilt so far. It’s slowly coming to completion and will then make it’s way to Kevin. However, there’s still time and room for more names if you want to add yours.

Kevin Henry

I started working on this “Who is Kevin Henry?” quilt after coming across Amy Mc Quire and Martin Hodgson’s ‘Curtain - The Podcast’ late last year. I spent the next 3 weeks, as I walked my dog , listening to episodes of Amy & Martin while they uncovered new evidence, detailed the failings of the forensic team and the complacency of Rockhampton Police in the investigation of Lynda’s tragic death back in September 1991.

Theses failings led to the conviction of Kevin Henry, a 22 year old Woorabinda man, who was visiting Rockhampton at the time. The information and the incompetencies revealed in this podcast so disturbed me that I just couldn’t believe I hadn’t heard about this case before. I felt sickened and heartbroken for Kevin and for his family.

Each quilt has it’s own story and the process of quilting allows me the space to contemplate as I stitch. This quilt has given me time to understand the privilege that comes with my outrage. I haven’t had to know who Kevin Henry, Robyn Kina, Derek Bromley, Mark Haines, Elijah Doherty and so many others are. It’s also why I am oftentimes blind to the inconsistencies, injustices and failings of the judicial and law enforcement system stacked against our First Nations Peoples. The rate of incarceration, deaths in custody, the age at which we criminalise Indigenous children here in Australia, the number of missing and murdered Indigenous women…..these too are things I have had to know little about as I navigate my life. The uncomfortable truth is: this is our white privilege.

As I continue to stitch this quilt some (and by no means, all) of the questions that surface in my mind are; Why is there so much invisibility when it comes to Indigenous lives here in Australia? How do I personally hold something so big & complex? How do I contribute to a more truthful future? What am I teaching my son about equity?

Kevin has maintained his innocence for the last 29 years. Maintaining his innocence cost him additional years of freedom. Unless Kevin ‘reformed’ during his incarceration he was unable to be considered for parole. Kevin refused to ‘reform’ because he maintained his innocence. Amy and Martin worked tirelessly to appeal over the years and continued to be met with the shortcomings & inflexibility of our judicial system. They continue to work to have Kevin’s case exonerated, now that he has been released.

Some other questions that rise as I stitch are ‘How does one personally survive this level of injustice?’ and ‘What does it take to hold your moral compass with such grace and dignity, against all odds?’

I have so much to learn and integrate when it comes to allyship. However, at the very least I know Kevin’s voice deserves to be heard; with adequate legal representation: by lawyers who can read the statement and verify it’s content, without coercion or force and with the support of his family and his community by his side.

On the back of this quilt I am stitching a message to Kevin that reads:

Dear Kevin,

Words here won’t do justice to the enormity of your losses.

We are sorry for the 29 years you spent without your family, your freedom & your community.

Each name stitched here stands in support of your truth.

We hope the world hears your story and learns the truth of who you really are.

In deep respect,

For anyone who would like to be a part of this quilt, please reach out. By adding your name to this quilt in support of Kevin you are sending a message that every individual has the right to a fair trial, that every voice is valid and of equal worth - regardless of race or literacy levels - and that Kevin’s truth deserves to be heard.

Once complete, this quilt will be sent to Kevin, via Martin Hodgson. My hope is that the support helps to create some visibility around Kevin’s story and to let Kevin know there are people who stand by his truth and want to offer their support so he can tell it in his own voice.

Other ways you can support:

Listen to the Podcast: Curtain The Podcast

Follow @amymcquire_ & @martinghodgson on Instagram fr updates

Support their continuing legal fees as they work to have Kevin’s case exonerated via Patreon.

Subscribe to Amy’s Substack here.

Send me a message to have your name added to the quilt in support of Kevin, here or on my Instagram @melindakeilyquilts

Have conversations with your family and friends about Kevin Henry.

Make it a point to learn more about the rate of Indigenous incarceration, deaths in custody, the age at which we criminalise our Indigenous children, the number of missing and murdered Indigenous women. @debkilroy is a great resource.