The PLP is trying to take credit for bringing the allegations of racism at the hospital to light: “The PLP government established the Office of the Ombudsman which investigated the allegations at King Edward and brought them to light. Under...
The following comments were submitted by Just Hangin Out. "I think there are very few people here in Bermuda, no matter what their pigmentation level, who would deny that racism existed in Bermuda in the past. The sad fact is,...
The following comments were submitted by LaVerne Furbert on the thread "How much control?". Because they are not specifically about the current strife within the UBP, but raise more general questions about racial integration in Bermuda, I decided to give...
Just when the UBP probably thought things couldn’t get any worse, another senior member of the party resigns citing racism. However, as with Jamahl Simmons, some of the claims made by Gwyneth Rawlins seem self-contradictory. "Blacks who make it to...
Julian Hall was on the radio news this morning, holding Premier Ewart Brown up as an example to Bermuda’s youth. Was it because Dr. Brown has shown that the colour of his skin is no barrier to wealth or high...
I asked Lynne Winfield, president of Citizens Uprooting Racism In Bermuda (CURB), whether she had any comment on the recent confrontation between the Premier and Grant Gibbons in the House of Assembly. I also asked whether she felt that such...
Premier Ewart Brown's attack on UBP backbencher Grant Gibbons in the House of Assembly on Friday evening provided a timely reminder that despite his ability to dazzle, the Premier is a deeply flawed man whose tenure as Premier is likely...
I almost choked when I saw the headline in today’s Royal Gazette: “PLP seeking a black governor”. Reading the article, however, it’s unclear whether the PLP are asking for Baroness Amos or Baroness Scotland because they’re black, or whether they...
CURB president Lynn Winfield has distanced the organisation from comments made by executive council member Eva Hodgson, who last week said that whites are not targeted by racism. In an email, she told me: “Dr. Hodgson has expressed her own...
Last week, the anti-racism organisation CURB (Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda) was re-launched. The full speech delivered by its President, Lynn Winfield, can be found here. While I applaud any initiative to help address inequities between the races in Bermuda,...
Having become a new father on Monday, I didn’t intend to blog much for the next few weeks. But I am so disgusted by the comments made by Deputy Premier Ewart Brown to the African Diaspora Heritage Trail conference yesterday,...
There’s a new anti-expat leaflet being circulated. This one is a little nastier than those that have come before. The message starts in a way likely to make many recipients nervous: “We’ve been watching and we know you are not...
The following submission was sent in by Calvin Smith. This morning at 4:00am, I accidentally entered your blog “Limey in Bermuda”. I had sworn off the blog after reading it once before and finding the correspondence so anti-Calvin Smith, I...
I’m not going to comment on everything Calvin Smith says in his opinion piece titled “Is race trump card in our political discourse?” in today’s Royal Gazette (not available online). But there are a couple of specific points I’d like...
The story of Charles Richardson, the young black Bermudian who has gone from prisoner to lawyer in 11 years, is a perfect example of what could be achieved by any of Bermuda’s angry young men. It’s ironic that Mr. Richardson...
Weaselguard writes: “A few years back on CNN, on the dearly departed Aaron Brown show, Brown had some interesting guests. They were black leaders from various cities in the States. They were unknown to me. A major concern that they...
I was shocked to learn that while 68% of whites and 73% of people of mixed race supported Renee Webb's recent bid to ban discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, a mere 19% of blacks did so. Black homophobia...
What should be the extent of the Government’s responsibility to tackle racism? On Friday, Community Affairs Dale Butler rejected two proposals. First, he reaffirmed that the Government will not adopt the UBP’s code of conduct on race because it would...
Just a reminder that the rally against racism is taking place at 12.30pm today at City Hall. As organiser Jonathan Starling has stated, this is not a protest against the Government, or about the Rui Medeiros beating in particular, but...
I have just received the following statement from Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda (CURB) on the recent racially-motivated attack on Rui Medeiros. "Racial attacks are appalling and what happened to Mr. Madeiros (sic) outside Docksiders Pub should not be condoned...
Jonathan Starling writes: "If the reports on the radio and the newspapers are correct about the beating of a Portuguese individual in the Docksiders pub on Wednesday July 5th, then it would seem that, at the very least, a racial...
In the final part of the Royal Gazette’s series ‘Whites in the PLP’, Premier Alex Scott said that, under his leadership, the PLP would not actively seek to recruit whites. Nevertheless, he apparently rejected the use of race as a...
The Royal Gazette deserves credit for running what's shaping up to be a fascinating series of articles on whites in the PLP. Today's introduction set the scene: When the Progressive Labour Party was formed in 1963 it was as a...
I was disappointed, but not at all surprised, by the PLP’s rejection of the UBP’s proposed racial code of conduct for elections. The current administration shamelessly exploited Bermuda’s racial divisions during the 2003 election, and senior members of the party...
Several things bother me about the spat between the Bermuda International Business Association (BIBA) and the Government over the latter’s proposal to penalise companies who do not appear to be training and promoting black Bermudians. First, although Community Affairs Minister...
In a letter to the editor of the Royal Gazette last week, Dr. Eva Hodgson wrote: I am not a sports person but I do know that cricket has been in the hands of the black Bermudian clubs with the...
In an Opinion piece in today's Royal Gazette, Rolfe Commissiong criticises white Bermudians for voting almost exclusively for the UBP while praising black Bermudians for their willingness to "cross the political colour line". The implication is that Bermuda's blacks are...
Is it just me, or does Patricia Gordon-Pamplin's complaint to the Human Rights Commission (HRC) about Senator David Burch's "house niggers" comments smack of political point-scoring? I'm as disgusted by what Senator Burch said as the next person, but shouldn't...
I'm glad that Crash won Best Picture at the Oscars last night. It's an outstanding movie, with particular relevance to Bermuda. I wrote a brief review last year. If you haven't already seen it, do yourself a favour and rent...
Last year I wrote an article in which I expressed my support for a process of truth and reconciliation to help heal Bermuda's racial divisions. Recently I've been wondering whether I might be able to use this blog to contribute...
I was interested to see a half-page feature on Bob Marley in yesterday's Royal Gazette, as part of Black History month. As a reader pointed out to me: "Bob was no more black than white. He was fathered by a...
French President Jacques Chirac today announced that France will hold an annual day of remembrance for the victims of slavery. It will be observed on 10 May, the anniversary of the day in 2001 on which France passed a law...
I always enjoy reading Tom Vesey’s columns in the Bermuda Sun. He has a knack for distilling issues to their essential components, and presenting them in a clear, common-sense manner with which it's almost impossible to disagree. This week, however,...
Alvin Williams makes some interesting points about racial integration in his column in this week’s Mid Ocean News. He argues that integration has been more about grafting black people into white society and points to examples of de facto segregation...
I’m becoming increasingly frustrated with Bermuda’s obsession with race. A letter from Eva Hodgson in Friday’s Mid Ocean News helped me understand why. “Until there is less of a racial divide in our community other outstanding social issues cannot be...
If I had called Lt. Col. David Burch a stupid nigger in one of the columns I used to write for the Royal Gazette, I think that pretty much everyone in Bermuda would have excoriated me for my comment. However,...
I propose that we forget about, eradicate and otherwise get rid of the term "racism". Why, when we're having so much fun getting vexed with each other, to the point where it's practically the national sport, would I suggest such...
When Premier Alex Scott promised a “major initiative to address those elements that seek to divide us” a couple of weeks ago, most people thought he was proposing restrictions on the freedom of the press. Possibly alarmed by the outcry...
Following a discussion of institutional racism on this site last month, I sent an email to CURE seeking their perspective on the problem. I asked what information they had on the existence of institutional racism in Bermuda and whether any...
When I heard that Jon Brunson had replaced Wayne Furbert as the UBP's second deputy leader this week, I offered him my congratulations along with everyone else. But nevertheless, two questions persist. First, does the Opposition really need two deputy...
When it comes to the vexed subject of race, there are many people who'll tell you that they wish we could just move on. Usually, however, those people are white. It's not a comment you hear often from the black...
I'd like to thank Robert Clifford of the National Association for Reconciliation for making available a transcript of Tim Wise's recent "white-on-white" forum. You can download it here.
Last night, around 130 people squeezed into Cathedral Hall to hear visiting author and anti-racism activist, Tim Wise. Billed as a “white on white” forum, the audience was predominantly white-skinned – and predominantly white-haired too. Tim’s talk lasted for only...
This evening I was fortunate to be able to join a small group of people for dinner with Tim Wise, an American author and anti-racism activist who’ll be giving a number of talks in Bermuda over the next few days....
Well, it may have taken five days, but today the Premier finally responded to the public concern about his controversial email to Tony Brannon. It came in the form of a lengthy advertisement in both the Royal Gazette and the...
Following Tony Brannon's decision yesterday to lodge a complaint against Premier Alex Scott with both CURE and the Human Rights Commission (HRC), CURE today said that it is not within their mandate to accept complaints. As such, Mr. Brannon will...
Four days have now passed without any comment from Premier Alex Scott about the Tony Brannon debacle. When the Premier learned that someone was posting comments on this site using his email address, a press release was issued that night...
When I first read that Premier Alex Scott had written that he was “getting tired of listening to, and taking crap from people who look and sound like [local white activist Tony] Brannon” I just shrugged my shoulders and sighed....
I'm still deciding what to think about Premier Alex Scott's careless admission that he is "getting tired of listening to, and taking crap from people who look and sound like [white local activist Tony] Brannon." To put the Premier's comments...
Royal Gazette Opinion, Thursday 22 September 2005 Amid the bias and the editorialising that suffused the final report of the much-maligned Bermuda Independence Commission (BIC) there was one recommendation that, of itself, justified that body’s existence. The report explicitly acknowledged...
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