Bermudians are closer to racial reconciliation than they were ten years ago, thanks to honest discussions that are finally bringing race issues out in the open, according to the Premier’s consultant.

Rolfe Commissiong made the statement while reflecting on the success and ambitions of the Bermuda Race Relations Initiative (BRRI), which has been taking place since March. The third in the series of discussions, entitled the ‘Big Conversation’, will be held at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess on May 21 and 22, facilitated by American experts Dr. Bernestine Singley and Professor Robert Jensen.

The BRRI was spearheaded by Premier Ewart Brown with the support of the Cabinet Office and the Commission for Unity and Racial Equality (CURE) and Mr. Commissiong is the chief organiser.

He was appointed as Dr. Brown’s consultant six months ago and charged with helping to find solutions on matters of social importance relating to the community.

BRRI offers a unique opportunity for blacks and whites to look beneath the surface and think differently, Mr. Commissiong said.

“One of our main focuses during the next race summit is to supplement the dialogue or ‘Big Conversation’ by taking a field trip to Tucker’s Town,” he said.

Mr. Commissiong said the field trip was suggested by participants in the last summit, as it might offer an enlightening example of how communities were displaced in segregated Bermuda.

“Its purpose is to explore the issue of dispossession and dismantling of a fairly viable, thriving, black, Bermudian community,” Mr. Commissiong said. “This community existed in that region of the country up until more than 50 years ago, until the people there were dispossessed by the direct intervention of the state by means of eminent domain.

“Some of the participants of the last summit came up with the idea, as well as some who actually have a family background there.”

When asked if the series of discussions will have any lasting impact on race relations on the Island, Mr. Commissiong expressed optimism.

“We’ve really begun to get older Bermudians in particular to open up in a frank and honest way, in which I haven’t seen in my lifetime,” he said.

“For example, a white Bermudian woman who is a member of a prominent family said when she was a little girl, in the 1930s, while walking along Front Street with her grandmother, she witnessed a baffling display.

“She saw her grandmother beat an older black man with her cane because he was simply walking on the same sidewalk as a white person.

“It marked the first realisation for her of the crude and vile form of racism that existed in Bermuda. The rationale for the beating, through the eyes of whites, was their necessity to remind blacks of their place within Bermudian society.

“Because the man simply walked away without uttering a word, I believe that blacks coped with living in a racist environment by simply repressing and internalising the acts that were committed against them.”

He credits the Opposition United Bermuda Party for participating in the BRRI, despite the belief by many blacks that the party neglected the issue of race during its 30-year tenure as Government.

“I think the UBP missed a golden opportunity during its time in power to advance the country with respect to race relations,” Mr. Commissiong said.

“However, I commend them, as I’m sure the Government does, for getting on board with this effort, which has been endorsed by the former Opposition Leader Wayne Furbert and Senator Gina Spence-Farmer.

“The current Opposition Leader, Michael Dunkley, participated in the last session and I’m sure he is very supportive. It’s a bi-partisan effort that’s reflective of the actual participants that represent a broad spectrum.

“Hopefully, these people — black and white — will plant the seeds throughout their own respective communities to ensure that this model can be duplicated and grow even larger.”

Mr. Commissiong said that he had been affected by racism from birth and related a story told to him by his mother.

“When I was a new-born baby in 1957 at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, while my mother was checking on me, a white mother, the wife of a doctor from a prominent family, had also given birth and asked her which baby belonged to her,” he said.

“After identifying me, my mother left and returned hours later to discover that I had been moved from the area I was in.

“A Canadian nurse told my mother that I had been moved over to another section. My mother then realised I was accidentally placed in the white babies area, because of my very light skin at the time of birth.

“She suspects that the white mother next to her, had complained that her new-born was lying next to a negro child.

“Once the mistake was uncovered, I was quickly moved to the appropriate black section.”

Mr. Commissiong said Government is planning for similar ‘conversations’ in the future including lectures on race, media and money, which are scheduled to take place in June and July respectively.

Those wanting more information on the upcoming talks should contact CURE at 296-0613 or log onto www.cure.bm.