THE annual Race Unity Day event spearheaded by members of the Baha'i faith saw people from all walks of life and races rally together in the name of world peace last week at Victoria Park in Hamilton.

After an opening prayer by emcee Derick (Cousin Juicy) Symonds, the first performer to grace the stage was none other than "Bermuda's First Governor", Ras Mykkal.

Never one to mince his words, Ras read a poem entitled Imagine, Racial Reverse.

The opening lines: "Can you imagine what it would be like if we could reverse this racial fight, if the ghetto was full of faces of no colour, blacks the head of the office and earning top dollar?"

Ras' thought-provoking poem appealed to those from the boiler room to the board room. The closing line of his first reading was: "Some of us may smile, the thought kind of feels nice. But if we're not all going to be equal, then this system still wouldn't be right".

His second piece, entitled Race, Race Relations and Racism, was a dub poem that defined the aforementioned terms. Ras quoted the dictionary in the opening part of his speech, saying: "According to the Oxford Dictionary, 'Race as it relates to people is the division of humankind into major groups of people with common features. The colour of the skin is the common feature used to divide the humankind into major groups of people'."

This was one of the rare instances where the outspoken dub poet performed without music as he highlighted factors that have created such practices as segregation, war and the all-too-common "glass ceiling".

"Some people will argue that this is a thing of the past, that slavery no longer exists. If this is true, then why does racism still exist? Is it not true that both are based on economic control? We must be void of greed and self-interest. We must see each other as equals and treat one another as so or racial harmony will always be talked about and never achieved."

The audience was then treated to a solo performance by keyboard virtuouso Ron Lightbourne, who demonstrated his prowess on the piano. Lightbourne's music and demeanour eptimosised cool - despite sweltering heat.

Up next was Deletta Gillespie, who opened with her rendition of Marvin Gaye's smash hit What's Going On?, written and recorded at the height of the 1960s/'70s protest movement. She then launched into Eric Clapton's If I Can Change The World, followed by a high-energy finale of I'll Take You There. In fact, Deletta's professionalism took the audience on a first-class trip to musical Nirvana. "She's a trooper," as the emcee exclaimed.

"Our world is steadily in peril and we need to affirm the onenness of man. We need to minimise the destructiveness that puts humanity in peril. Many of us preach love, but too few of us practise it", said Cousin Juicy before introducing the Griffin Jazz Quintet.

This group eased through a series of jazz pieces and during their performance the musical phenomenon Aaron Daniels joined them on stage and proved he can jam with the best of them. This group's talent is inspirational and, as Cousin Juicy said, they play "beautiful music for beautiful people".

On an inspirational note Robert (Sai) Emery then gave a stirring performance that will likely whet interest in his newly relesed CD. After performing three songs Emery made way for Nick Strong of the Capoeira Association of Bermuda, who shared a bit of this Brazilian martial art's history before giving a demonstration.

Capoeira was born in the senzalas, the places where the slaves were kept. It consists of a stylised dance, practised in a circle called the roda, with background music provided by percussion instruments, like the agogo and the atabaqui. It incorporates maculele, performed with blades, and maracatu, using sticks. It's highly acrobatic, energetic and difficult to master, but Strong and his small troupe gave a performance that was equal parts stylised ballet and full-blown workout.

Music is an essential part of Capoeira. The main instruments are the berimbau, which resembles a single-string bow with a gourd at the bottom, and tyre wire for a string. The youngest performer, Abraham Sousa, a mere seven years old, was pretty adept and almost upstaged his older counterparts.

The duo of Wire & Zion comprised of Mitchell Trott and Desta Wilson was a combination of tap dancing and a cappella. As Trott danced his way into the hearts of those attending, Wilson provided the vocal portion with his rendition of Bob Marley's War. Trott tapped as Wilson scatted which is no easy feat and they fully deserved the deafening round of applause they received for a great performance.

As the day drew to a close James Richardson treated the audience to his brand of music which was nothing short of awesome. A consummate performer, Richardson performed a piece that was performed on the spur of the moment.

The final act of the day was pianist Dennis Fox with Cal Worrel on congas. Their rendition of the Lady From Ipanema was infectiously upbeat and, as short as their gig was, they ended the day on a high note (pun intended).

While Race Unity Day is observed annually on June 8, it was clear that his ensemble of talented performers and their supporters are determined to live its precepts every day of the year.