E. S. "Nigger" Brown Stand

In 1999, Hagan visited the Clive Berghofer Stadium in Toowoomba, Queensland, and noticed a large sign declaring the name of the E. S. "Nigger" Brown Stand, which had been named after the 1920s rugby league player Edwin Stanley Brown – also known as "Nigger" Brown, possibly in response to his pale skin and blond hair.^[9] This prompted a long campaign to have the stand renamed to remove the offending nickname.

Hagan unsuccessfully pursued the case before the High Court and the Federal Court of Australia, both of which rejected his claim.^[10]

In 2003 Hagan v Australia was heard before the United Nations' Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). Hagan, the complainant, claimed the naming of the stand was discriminatory against him.^[11] The committee recommended that Australia "take the necessary measures to secure the removal of the offending term from the sign".^[12]

In 2008, the stand was demolished and the issue was resolved, and Toowoomba Sports Ground Inc agreed not to use the term in the future:^[13] indeed they had given a similar undertaking in 1999.

As the dispute went through the courts Hagan was brought close to bankruptcy and received threats, according to his wife,^[14] including letters claiming to be from the Ku Klux Klan.^[15] As a result of these threats and for the sake of his family, Hagan says, he decided to move house.^[16]

Coon cheese

In 2001, Hagan filed a complaint with the Advertising Standards Bureau after an advertisement for Coon cheese was broadcast during the Academy Awards.^[17] In 2008 he stated his belief that the cheese was named after a racial epithet and called on its manufacturer to prove its claim that it was named after American cheesemaker Edward Coon.^[18] This followed an earlier unsuccessful complaint to Australian Human Rights Commission in 1999.^[19] When announced in 2020 by the brand owners, Saputo Inc., that the name would be changed in the wake of Australian participation in the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, Hagan declared that it was "a total vindication of 20 years of campaigning."^[19] In December 2020, Hagan and Destiny Rogers from QNews published the e-book Coon: More Holes than Swiss Cheese.^[20]

In 2021, Hagan commented on Lake Macquarie's council's intention of renaming Coon Island in Swansea. The island was named after a white local coalminer, Herbert Heany, who gained that nickname because of his blackened face when coming home from the mine. The council intended to start considerations about a new name in February 2021, but Hagan insisted it ought to be renamed immediately, without consultation.^[21]

Toowoomba golliwogs

On 1 December 2016, Hagan caused controversy when he labelled Toowoomba the "most racist city in Australia"^[22] after a display of nine golliwog dolls were placed by a Terry White Chemists shop underneath a sign^[23] inviting shoppers to "Experience a White Christmas". The controversy began when Toowoomba man, author George Helon^[22] spotted the dolls placed beneath the sign^[24] and circulated a picture of it on Facebook^[25] and Twitter.^[26] The store's manager apologised and said they would not stock the dolls in the future.^[26]

Coles Express

In June 2020, it was reported that Hagan would sue Coles Express for racial discrimination following an incident at a service station in Townsville where he was asked to pre-pay for fuel. He stated that two white drivers at the same time had not been required to do so.^[27]

Carlton Football Club song

In 2021, Hagan urged the Carlton Football Club to change the tune of its club song, "We Are the Navy Blues". While admitting that the song's lyrics are not racially offensive, he objected to its melody, "Lily of Laguna", and the original and racist heritage of that melody. He said, "It took me 10 years to get the name of the stand changed and now I'm doing the same for another sporting club." The club, supported by several of its Indigenous players, said any racial connotations had been removed from the song 80 years ago and that the objectionable history of its melody was unlikely to have been known to the writers of the lyrics in 1929.^[28]