From The Royal Gazette of 1834: “ … The eventful first day of August 1834, a period looked for in all the British West Indian Colonies with the excited feelings of hope and fear – hope by those in bondage for a relief from thraldom; fear, on the part of the owners lest that liberty which was to become general would be the means of leading the newly emancipated, to acts unbecoming Men and Christians.

“The first of August 1834 came, a day on which in this island alone, near four thousand beings received their freedom from a domestic slavery which had been perpetual. The change was gradual, was peaceable; and none but those conscious of the work which the lapse of a few hours, nay, moments, was effecting, and familiar with the habits of the people could fancy such an event was taking place. The day was remarkable for quietude, exemption from labour and solemnity as that which marks the Sabbath in every Christian land.

“The only bustle perceptible was in the preparation for attending Public worship, which His Excellency the Governor, Sir R.S. Chapman, 1832-1835, most wisely ordered to be performed – thereby dedicating it wholly to God, the willer and the doer of this great work.

“The churches and other places of public worship throughout the Island were crowded to excess – every possible accommodation being afforded to the coloured people. From every quarter we hear of their orderly, nay more their exemplary behaviour; for those assembled in the Parish Church of Pembroke – upwards we think of four hundred – we say with much satisfaction that in the many churches and chapels and other places of worship, of various denominations of Christians which we have visited, we have never seen a more orderly, a more becoming or a more attentive congregation.

“The solemn occasion on which they were assembled, had evidently wrought much on their minds; and the affectionate, good and wholesome advice of their pastors will, it is hoped, have a proper and lasting effect.

“Four days of universal freedom have now passed; and four days of more perfect order, regularity and quiet have these famed peaceful Isles never witnessed; the opinion which this change would cause in the Slaves Society was in its infancy, by a person then and now high in office in this colony, has been to the letter realised.

“In one instance only have we heard of anything like a general public ebullition of feeling, and this consisted in those recently liberated in St George, meeting on the square in that town(e), on Saturday morning, and giving three long and loud huzzahs, and then dispersing, each to his respective home and occupation …

“(Signed by the several members of the Coloured Friendly Union Society of the Parish of Paget)”

Taken from The Royal Gazette:1828-1978 – A brief history of The Royal Gazette.

At that time, the Church of England was the dominating religion. Today Bermuda boasts about 14 Christian denominations together with Muslims, the Jewish faith, Ethiopian Orthodox, Rastafarian, the Bahá’ís and others.

This year marks the 190th anniversary of the Emancipation of Slavery throughout the then British Empire.

It was our Bermudian-born Mary Prince, one of our National Heroes, who managed to find the offices of the Anti-Slavery Society in Aldermanbury in East London where “she reported that she had been ill treated by her current master and mistress” who took her to England from the West Indies. It is reported that Mary was in the employ of a Mr and Mrs Wood for over a decade.

While in London, Mary believed that she might find a cure for her rheumatism, which made it impossible to do her work of washing piles of laundry given to her by her slave owners. Eventually, Mary escaped from the Woods and she successfully appealed to the Anti-Slavery Society where she sought and gained assistance leading ultimately to the Emancipation of Slavery Act of 1834.

As noted above, the governor of the day ordered all slaves, now freemen to attend church to thank God for the cessation of this despicable act on the part of all White men.

The Bahá’í Faith is the only religion which bans and abhors the act of slavery in all its forms.

In its Most Holy Book, The Kitab-I-Aqdas, it states:

“It is forbidden you to trade in slaves, be they men or women. It is not for him who is himself a servant to buy another of God’s servants, and this hath been prohibited in His Holy Tablet. Thus, by His mercy, hath the commandment been recorded by the Pen of justice. Let no man exalt himself above another; all are but bind slaves before the Lord, and all exemplify the truth that there is none other God but Him. He, verily is the All-Wise, Whose wisdom encompasses all things.”

The purpose of Baháʼu'lláh’s Revelation is to establish the oneness of humanity and unite all peoples, and this last and highest stage in the evolution of society cannot be achieved if the Bahá’í Faith succumbs to the malady of sectarianism and the dilution of the divine Message witnessed in the past.

History has amply demonstrated that religion can serve either as a powerful instrument for co-operation to propel the advancement of civilisation, or as a source of conflict that yields incalculable harm. the undying and civilising power of religion begins to decline as the followers come to disagree on the meaning and application of the divine teachings, and the community of the faithful eventually becomes divided into contending sects and denominations.

Following 1834, it took another 125 years before Bermuda began the dismantling of segregation in 1959 with the Theatre Boycott.

It was the established church in Bermuda, the Church of England, from day one in 1609 which perpetuated the evils of racism and segregation. It eventually became, by an Act of the Legislature in 1975 as the Anglican Church of Bermuda – no longer the “established church”. And you will recall the late Hilton Hill in his essay: The Racial Divide in Bermuda from the Cradle to the Grave from 1609-1959: Every school in the island was totally segregated. There were white schools and coloured schools from kindergarten to primary, to secondary level.

Never the twain to mix. Even on Sundays, for example the Cathedral or Pembroke Sunday Schools, for example, from 3 to 4pm each Sunday afternoon. White children had already had their Sunday School before the morning services.

The Anglican church was the state church, but in Bermuda it had no ordained ministers who were coloured. There were lay readers, who faithfully administered to coloured Anglican worshippers in coloured neighbourhoods, in Chapels, not churches.

When ordained Anglican ministers, who happened to be Black, visit to preach at one of the chapels or on occasion they would be honoured to preach at the Cathedral or another Anglican Church in the afternoon, but never at a regular morning or evening service.

This did have a fringe benefit, according to Mr Hill, because it would provide an opportunity for the Number 2 Choir to be heard. Coloured Bermudians were not allowed to join the regular choirs which sang at regular services in Anglican churches. They were segregated in Choir No 1 and Choir No 2.

Choir No 2 was an all-coloured choir which sang only at coloured weddings and funerals, lodge services and other special off-time services. There were also coloured altar boys, ushers and organists who performed only at these special services.

However, much has changed since those days of separation. The Reverend Ewen Ratteray became Bermuda’s first Black Anglican archdeacon and subsequently the first Black Anglican bishop.

The Bahá’í teachings considers racism, one of the most baneful and persistent evils, is a major barrier to peace. Its practice perpetrates too outrageous a violation of the dignity of human beings to be countenanced under any pretext. Racism retards the unfoldment of the boundless potentialities of its victims, corrupts its perpetrators, and blights human progress. Recognition of the oneness of humankind, implemented by appropriate legal measures, must be universally upheld if this problem is to be overcome.

Writing to the Bahá’ís of the United States in July 2020 in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, the worldwide governing institution of the Bahá’í Faith, the Universal House of Justice stated: “Ultimately, the power to transform the world is effected by love, love originating from the relationship with the divine, love ablaze among members of a community, love extended without restriction to every human being.

“This divine love, ignited by the Word of God, is disseminated by enkindled souls through intimate conversations that create new susceptibilities in human hearts, open minds to moral persuasion, and loosen the hold of biased norms and social systems so that they can gradually take on a new form in keeping with the requirements of humanity’s age of maturity.

“You are channels for this divine love, let it flow through you to all who cross your path. Infuse it into every neighbourhood and social space in which you move to build capacity to canalise the society-building power of Baháʼu'lláh’s revelation. There can be no rest until the destined outcome is achieved.”

On this 190th anniversary of the Emancipation of Slavery, we invite all to pause and ponder how far we have come as Bermudians, as an island-nation as we travel onwards quo fata ferunt.

• Leighton Rochester wrote this article on behalf of the National Spritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Bermuda