I started today at about 6 am viewing the golf channel. Apparently, I went to sleep with the golf channel on and of course I woke up with that channel still on and broadcasting a discussion of forthcoming programmes. Among the programmes discussed, was a series which featured the entry of blacks into games sponsored by the Professional Golf Association of America (PGA).

I assume that the programme was in recognition of the fact that golf was once widely recognised as the last bastion of racial segregation. Of added interest for me was the fact that the program was narrated by Mr. Samuel L. Jackson who himself is no novice on the golf course.

I found the programme very interesting even though it was just a preview of the programme to be aired later in the month. The preview was particularly stimulating because it featured my namesake, Calvin Peete, who was no doubt the most successful black golfer on the PGA circuit until the advent of Tiger Woods.

However, according to the programme, Mr. Charlie Sifford was even more highly regarded than Mr. Peete with respect to breaking down the racial barriers in golf. According to the preview, it is generally recognised among golfers that Mr. Sifford was the man who broke down the colour barriers in all aspects of Professional golf.

Such being the case, it certainly explains why Tiger Woods has always regarded Charlie as the man who made possible his own illustrious career and perhaps for that reason, Tiger has named his newly born son "Charlie" For me, my major interest in American golf began with Calvin Peete.

I became aware of Mr. Peete when he won the Milwaukee Open and in so doing dominated the national sports news for the week following his victory. At the time of Calvin's victory, Lee Elder and Charles Sifford were also playing on the PGA tour. These two men were joined later by Mr. Jim Thorpe who was famous for prodigious drives.

All of the black golfers suffered terrible indignities on the PGA tour. There were many golf clubs in existence at the time which still carried white only clauses with respect to membership. In fact, this situation prevailed among a few clubs even after the arrival of Mr. Woods. However, this man was beating all and sundry on the tour and refused to honour these segregated sites with an appearance.

Mr. Sifford and Mr. Thorpe were the only golfers in the golf channel preview who actually related their negative experiences on tour. Sifford remembered vividly the clubs which refused membership to Black professionals while Thorpe recalled the deathly silence when he made a brilliant shot.

He actually referred to one of these occasions during which he made an approach shot which finished only six inches from the hole but for which there was no applause from the many hundreds who surrounded the green.

Interestingly enough, Mr. Sifford compared his entry into pro-golf as being more stressful than the experience of Mr. Jackie Robinson when he became the first black to play as a professional in the National Professional Baseball League. I suppose there was some validity to this view.

Jackie was part of a team and when he did something on the playing field that promoted the interests of his teammates and their fans, he had to be given applause, however grudgingly. This was not true for blacks in golf. Mr. Sifford played solely for himself. He could not even depend upon blacks to support his efforts since few played golf and those who did not actively engage in the sport, wondered why a black man wanted to become part of a game that was so "lily white" in terms of both players and fans.

Today's youth might well wonder why the black population of that time did not bother to show its support for widening the sporting opportunities for their race, no matter what the nature of that opportunity. That is because, today's youth take for granted the fact that there is very little to which they cannot aspire. This attitude has gained vastly increased significance for both young and older blacks since an African American became the president of the United States of America.

On my own behalf, the election of Mr. Obama has superseded my wildest expectations as well as those of virtually all the many persons whom I would classify as friends and associates. In one sense, the reasons for the pessimism of blacks and others might seem contradictory. After all, every state in America has a majority of white voters, yet a black governor has been elected by that white majority as have black senators inclusive of Mr. Barack Obama.

Let us not forget that he was elected as a senator in the state of Illinois with a record 70 percent of the vote. Illinois has a black voter population of only 15 percent. Clearly, more and more white voters are looking for the quality of candidates and not their colour.

With these thoughts spinning around in my head, I trudged to my job at the Bermuda Industrial Union where I am employed as their Research Officer. My job provides me with great pleasure since from the time I graduated from Queen's University; I have always made a serious effort to donate my free time to the pursuit of black interests.

Some have characterised this practice as racial and my standard reply is "Of course it is!" My explanation is as follows: "If blacks have been greatly restricted by whites in terms of their opportunity structure, than it is clearly the responsibility of blacks to widen that opportunity structure. This can be done by broadening our skills and creating a capital base thereby providing the leverage to force open doors that are closed or open only narrowly.

The sports model should have provided us with an understanding of what is required to succeed in a sea of racism. That is to develop whatever positive characteristics we possess that are saleable to the full extent of our collective ability. This characteristic may be genetic, a unique experience or a combination of both. Too often this basic requirement for success seems to elude us.

I have often heard this question raised by black colleagues, "Why is it that black Bermudians have managed to create workingman's clubs for their entertainment, several denominations of churches in which to worship and strong powerful trade unions to protect their incomes? Yet, Blacks in Bermuda have not been as successful in the creation of powerful businesses to foster their economic interests whether as a consumer or an investor."

Of course, the time for the black collective to engage in such economic ventures may have been missed. Owners of emerging black enterprises appear to be finding it easier to join an existing white owned business than to create a black owned enterprise. Perhaps, all things considered, this is the wave of the future.

Certainly, as we become more and more involved in the so-called global economy, the need for our major races to join hands to pursue common economic goals is becoming more and more necessary. While it might have once been possible to create an all white or all black enterprise to pursue restricted economic goals, this is certainly not the right path to progress when we are participating in a global economy.

Still, it may not be as easy for our major races to join hands in a common effort as I would like to see. Just this morning I was shown a letter that a colleague had received criticising her for her defence of black people in general and the PLP in particular.

The letter referred to my colleague as "A scumbag M.F. n***** B." After this opening, the letter got really nasty.

I must admit that although I am reasonably confident that Bermuda's major races are learning to get along, we must always be mindful that there exist among us people for whom injurious prejudice will always be present.