Racist hate mail slurs against Coon cheese activist Stephen Hagan

The Aboriginal activist who campaigned to change the name of Coon cheese is now the target of white supremacist hate mail.

Dr Stephen Hagan. Picture: Lenn Campbell

The Aboriginal activist who instigated the name change for Coon cheese is seeking police pro­tection after receiving white ­supremacist hate mail over his victory.

Stephen Hagan fought for 21years to change the brand that its Australian manufacturers said was named after Edward William Coon, who patented the ripening process for the original product.

It was announced last week the cheese would become known as Cheer in Australia from July after a rebranding by owners ­Saputo Dairy Australia.

Despite a statement from ­Saputo of its support for the name change and a “commitment to building a culture of acceptance, inclusion and respect”, Dr Hagan said he continued to receive abuse for his role in the issue.

“People don’t like change and they have a lot of trouble accepting that Aboriginal people can have influence changing a racial slur,” he said. “They just see a black Australian bringing about change to an iconic food item.”

Among the emails he received was one from a man who asked “How does it feel for your life to revolve around inferiority to the white man?”. It was signed “may the Aryan man rule forever”.

Dr Hagan said he found the message very troubling, and when he posted it on his Facebook page, First Nations Telegraph, the social media company deemed it a “violation of standards” and threatened to pull the page down if it was not removed.

“When I read it, my first thought was the Christchurch massacre. The author seemed to have a similar mindset,” he said.

Other abusive messages accused Dr Hagan of “ruining everything Australian”, called him “a disgrace” and suggested he “would be judged for his idiocy”.

He is disappointed Queensland police suggested he refer his protection request to the Northern Territory as he travelled from Toowoomba to Darwin. A response from Commissioner Katarina Carroll’s office said: “I don’t believe on face value there is any other link to Queensland”.