Bermuda must tackle systemic racism in order to confront a plague of violence, a counsellor affiliated with Social Justice Bermuda said.Juanae Crockwell was part of a group of hundreds that marched through Hamilton on June 13 in support of the global Black Lives Matter movement.Bermuda has been troubled with violence since then, including the murder of Joshua Rowse, 22, who was stabbed at a Warwick petrol station the next day, and a machete attack that left a 33-year-old mother with multiple life-threatening injuries outside a home in Warwick on Friday night.Two men were stabbed in a youth brawl at John Smith’s Bay on the evening of the Social Justice Bermuda march, and a 24-year-old man was also shot in St George’s that night.Ms Crockwell, who addressed marchers ahead of the demonstration, said social injustice and violence-related issues were intertwined and must be tackled together.She told The Royal Gazette: “Choices have consequences — I am not trying to absolve these young people.“I didn’t say this at the march, but I have lost three cousins to gun violence and have many family members that grew up in low-income areas.”Ms Crockwell added: “I have two cousins from the same home. One is dead and one has become a community worker.“It all comes down to the choices we make. We’re not here to give people a pass, but there are systemic issues that contribute to why some may feel there’s no other choice.”Social Justice Bermuda wants to change the island’s regulatory frameworks so that they do not benefit “entrenched business interests”.It also calls for all children to be given access to a high standard of education, a livable wage, support for the unemployed and underemployed, and a solution to the island’s high cost of living.Ms Crockwell told the hundreds gathering at Barr’s Bay Park: “Oppression manifests in so many different ways, and when we as a community decide to come together to tackle the root, which is white supremacy and systemic racism, we simultaneously tackle all our social ills.”She told demonstrators that problems in “education, criminal justice, healthcare, access to food, the cost of living, gang violence, unemployment — whatever issue is close to your heart, you’re in the right place today, because when we tackle the root, we fix everything”.She added: “All of our social ills go back to oppression.”Ms Crockwell told the Gazette: “I recognise that’s a huge thing to do. I’m aware we can’t just get rid of it. But we can keep trying to address the symptoms, or we can address the disease.”She said she took part in the march as a concerned Bermudian mother of three black sons.“It’s amazing when people come together with unique talents and push to actually do something,” she said.“Marching is great, but I have to do something for my sons’ futures.”Social Justice Bermuda is also calling for restorative justice and a criminal justice system that “focuses on prevention, provides rehabilitation, does not criminalise drug users, and focuses on the humanity of each person”.Ms Crockwell, a certified holistic counsellor, is studying for a master’s degree in youth and community development through De Montfort University in Leicester, England.Her dissertation examines mental health services in the Bermuda Department of Corrections, where she said the “vast majority” of inmates were black.“A lot of these young men are going to prison for petty crimes, but even the violent ones are serving time and coming out with no mental health treatment.“Whether we like it or not, anyone engaging in consistent antisocial behaviour is struggling with their mental health. No one wants to be that person.“If we’re not addressing the mental health component, the aggression builds and we have this cycle of acting out.“While the justice system might be good at locking our young men up, it’s not good at rehabilitation.”Ms Crockwell cited the example of her late brother, Shawn Crockwell, the independent MP and former Cabinet minister, who used prison time towards a law qualification.She added: “But to do that, you have to be strong — and have support from your family.”Ms Crockwell said she was familiar with arguments that the Black Lives Matter movement failed to take on issues such as black-on-black violence.Low-income black communities are often “packed in and frustrated with each other”, she said. “You express that to the people closest to you, unless you have the tools to cope in a healthy way.”She said taking on systemic racism required self-evaluation by black people.“Yes, there are systemic issues we have to tackle, and there are personal, spiritual issues we have to work through too. We have to do both,” she added.Ms Crockwell noted the work of the Mirrors Programme and Raleigh Bermuda in driving personal development and self-transformation for young people at risk.“We have so many community organisations, but most are underfunded,” she said.“I don’t want to single out white people, but white people who want to make a difference can do so just by helping these groups change the trajectory of a generation.”