An anti-racism activist who likened the term 'whiteness' to a sickness has called on churches and others to do more to combat racism instead of leaving it to politicians.

American Tim Wise, whose work against apartheid which received international attention and thanks from Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, spoke at yesterday's Hamilton Rotary Club luncheon.

In conjunction with Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda (CURB), he is here for the second time to hold public discussions with community leaders and the public to help dismantle racism.

Mr. Wise said: "Whiteness is something that happens to people of European descent ¿ it's a category to which we are placed and it has meaning.

"Why is race seen as dabbling in politics? I would say it's precisely because the churches have ceded that ground to the political realm.

"The schools have ceded that ground and the business community doesn't want to talk about it because it's politically divisive.

"The reason it ends up getting seen as political football is because we've allowed that to happen ¿ that's our choice."

He took the opportunity to criticise The Royal Gazette claiming that the paper implied he was on the Island to promote Government's proposed Workforce Equity Act in an article on Monday.

The legislation would ensure that black employee levels reflect the racial makeup of the workforce.

"According to The Royal Gazette," he retorted, "If you read them a few days ago you would think that my purpose being here on the Island was essentially to endorse the Workforce Equity Act ¿ that wasn't my intent.

"I didn't know about the Act until three days before I got here. I was asked about the Act and I endorsed the Act in principle.

"The part about principle was sort of left out of the article ¿ but sometimes that happens. I haven't read every word, every line and sentence of the Act."

As an outsider, he said he understood why some would prefer him to stay out of Bermuda's affairs but cited the similarities between Bermuda and the United States as the mitigating factor.

"When I came I remember people asking why as an American I felt as though I had any place speaking about any issue in Bermuda.

"Because after all, the racial context here is so different than the United States.

"The US and in Bermuda, though different, is not so different to make it impossible for someone who grew up in the US to understand the dynamic here."

To his white detractors who often claim in Bermuda that slavery did not happen on their watch, he used a keen paradigm of inherent privilege and benefits.

He explained: "It's much like if you become the CEO of a corporation.

"You don't get to go in on the first day, call in the chief financial officer and demand to look at the company's assets and revenue stream.

"And, you're not going to be able to say 'I like the part about our assets and our profits from last year but leave the part about our outstanding debt in your office'.

"And you can't say 'I wasn't here when you borrowed all that money; I wasn't here when you ran up all that debt ¿ that was someone else's doing'.

"As a society, we don't get to use the assets that have come from past actions and not pay the deficits and not deal with the down sides ¿ we have to deal with both."

Mr. Wise will be facilitating a seminar titled, "Community Dialogue: Understanding Racism Together" tomorrow night at St. Andrews from 7 to 9 p.m. which the public are invited to attend.

Last night he held the dialogue, "White on White: Understanding Racism and Privilege," at the Cathedral Hall.

For additional information on the discussions, email CURB at curb[AT]northrock.bm.

Mr. Wise also received the 2001 British Diversity Award for best feature essay on race issues and his writings are taught at hundreds of colleges and have appeared in dozens of professional and scholarly journals.

He has authored two books; "White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son" and "Affirmative Action: Racial Preference in Black and White" and has a BA in Political Science from Tulane University.

For more information on Mr. Wise, visit his web site at www.timwise.org.