July 24, 2012Dear Sir,I first heard Kevin Comeau speak live and in colour at the Racial Injustice Conference that CURB hosted in March of this year. I, as well as others involved at Chewstick, had the privilege to perform spoken word poetry at the event and as proud as I was of our contribution on that day, there were three speakers whose integrity, passion and intelligence lit up my heart. Dr Michelle Alexander, Shannon Tucker and Kevin Comeau are simply stars in the night sky. If you get close you’ll discover, as I did, that they are indeed Suns with their own gravitational pull visiting the Earth for a little while. (And we should perhaps be more willing to be guided by such stars.) Simply put, I was inspired and my heart was sun-kissed by their bravery and honesty. So, it is in gratitude that I write this letter because we need to talk about Kevin!By the end of this letter, some of you will ask (rhetorically, of course, ‘cause I’m not there to answer),“How well does she even know Kevin Comeau?” Some of you will even suspect that I’m sipping from some special stock of Kevin Comeau Kool-Aid. Others may even conclude that Kevin and I drafted this together over golfing, scuba diving, sailing, fishing outings ... otherwise why would a black, Bermudian, 20-something woman take the time out of her busy (I assure you, it is) life to write a Letter to the Editor about some old white guy? Well ... I don’t golf, sail, dive (unless it’s off the rocks) or fish. I was just raised by a good man to know a good man when I see/hear one and Kevin Comeau is one of a few good men.Unfortunately, I know Kevin only as far as an hour would allow. You see, I asked him to have lunch with me, and he said yes, so yesterday we ate lunch and we talked about our upbringing. Mine, in government housing; his, in a lower/middle class family. My daddy’s early days as a bartender at White Horse; his dad’s days on an assembly line at Ford. My struggle to afford university tuition; his struggle to afford university tuition. We even agreed to shared custody of the Cornell West biggest fan badge (currently in my “care”). But aside from so many commonalities and our shared love for the arts, I discovered that we both love Bermuda. Not just Bermuda the beaches, palm trees and rum swizzle ... Bermuda the Bermudians. The bold, warm, tell-it-like-it is (even when you ain’t right) Bermudians.In an hour, it was clear that underlying all of Kevin’s letters, speeches, hundreds of hours of research, free sound legal advice (online and otherwise) and willingness to be berated ... under all of that is a deep, abiding love for our people. And his sense of contribution and his willingness to contribute in the face of suspicion, derision and investigation (with plenty to lose and nothing to gain) should not be ignored — not by anyone who wants a lesson in leadership. This week, we’re losing Kevin. He’s moving to the West Coast to raise his daughter. In light of this news, I asked myself a question ... “Do we only have love for Bermudians?”Unlike the US to our west, there was nothing here but wildlife and wide seas when we were settled. We weren’t “discovered” in quotation marks; this rock was literally discovered! And then some of our ancestors were brought here against their will, and some of our ancestors brought some of our ancestors here against their will. That is our shared history (the abbreviated version, of course). But I ask, as a 20-something: “What is our shared stake in our future!?” Will we only be open to the leadership and wisdom and guidance of Bermudians? Will all others always and only be treated like second class citizens?I’m not so concerned with international businesses leaving our Island as I am with international leaders leaving our Island. And a leader like Kevin Comeau has been serenading our government on our behalf for years Bermuda! If someone demanded you be treated with compassion and fairness ... would you love them? If they demanded it in writing, in speech, in cyberspace ... would you love them then? If they loved you so much they took on verbal assaults, personal attacks and some serious unkindness all to make life more just for you ... would you love ‘em then?Or are only Black people allowed to love Bermuda? Are only Bermudians allowed to better Bermuda? Will we only accept cash or card from all others? ‘Cause honestly this just doesn’t make much sense to me. It seems like plenty a pound of foolish to me that we’re about to lose Kevin Comeau to San Diego. I mean they have sunshine and beaches and blue skies over there, but we’ve got something special over here!Kevin doesn’t know I’m writing this letter. Hell, I didn’t even know I was writing a letter till about ten minutes ago (Exhibit A — poor grammar) but I’m wondering now if I’m doing him a disservice. Maybe someone who has done more than break bread, read a few reports and hear him speak should be writing this letter. Maybe “we need to talk about Kevin” before more Kevins give up on their romance. Cause let’s face it, Bermuda, Kevin Comeau has been writing love letters to our government on our behalf ... our government might call it “reckless, misguided statements”. But I know love when I see it and I know love when I hear it and we’re losing the love, Bermuda ... can you feel it?TIFFANY PAYNTERBermuda, Earth