Community leaders have denounced an “offensive” placard carried during Friday’s protest march and are urging residents to stand together, not be divided.

Many people took to social media and news websites to criticise the sign, which stated “White mental illness is killing African Bermudians. Racism”.

The march, organised by the People’s Campaign and the unions, was to urge Government to take action over a legal loophole that allows Permanent Resident Certificate holders to be granted Bermudian Status.

More than 500 people took part in the march from Victoria Park to the Cabinet Building — but one protester caused outrage and upset with her sign.

March leaders said they were not aware of the sign until after the event, while campaign group CURB urged residents to think about the “anger, pain and hurt” that prompted such a sign to be created in the first place.

People’s Campaign leader Reverend Nicholas Tweed said the group “reject and disapprove in the strongest possible way, and are unequivocally opposed to any kind of racism or discrimination”.

“This is no way reflects the People’s Campaign, it wasn’t condoned or authorised,” he said. “We are not promoting racism or discrimination.

“Our marshals were given strict instructions for there to be no offensive placards and no placards contrary to the purpose for which we were marching. They were to remove them.

“I had no idea about that sign until after the march. It’s nothing to do with the march, it’s the full responsibility of the individual who chose to push their own agenda.

“We don’t condone offensive or derogatory comments from any sector of the community.”

Rev Tweed emphasised that the People’s Campaign was “not marching on a race issue, it’s a moral issue”.

“We don’t want people utilising the People’s Campaign as a cover for their own agenda,” he said. “We think there’s a very important issue that has to be addressed and we would hate for the issue to get lost.

“If people read our statements our intention has been clear — for the Government to close the loophole in law and provide a reasonable path to Status for eligible PRC holders.

“It was not an anti-PRC march. We support PRCs 100 percent but that law is bad law, it was never intended as a path to Status.”

Bermuda Public Services Union executive Ed Ball also critised the sign and insisted “no one is advocating divisions of the races”.

“That’s never been the intention, we want to bring all the races together,” he said. “We definitely don’t condone this.

“Every attempt was made before the march through radio announcements to alert members of the public that any offensive placards or verbal remarks that were racist in nature or offensive would not be welcome.

“Prior to the march, marshals went out into the gathering marchers to make sure there were no offensive placards. People were to be told they could not display them and that should have been done with that person.

“The BPSU has always denounced any forms of prejudice against anyone based on their colour, creed, race, religion or ethnicity. We don’t approve of discrimination against anyone who is a PRC.

“We cannot be held accountable for what people do as individuals. She’s not a member of BPSU and if they were they would be dealt with.”

Mr Ball urged the community to stand united against any forms of discrimination towards any sector of the community.

“When we see things the community must speak out from a sense of principle,” he said.

Mr Ball repeated Rev Tweed’s statement that the march was only ever intended to object to the law loophole, not PRC holders.

“That’s the position of unions, it’s the only way we would have participated,” he said. “We’re not against PRCs — it’s about the loophole, not the person.”

The One Bermuda Alliance also criticised the sign and called for “the law to investigate”.

Acting OBA Chairman Susan Jackson said: “The sign is clearly racist and we condemn it in the strongest terms.

“We are disappointed the People’s Campaign would allow it to be carried in their march. Bermuda needs free speech, but it’s got to be responsible free speech; not this.

“We expect agencies responsible for upholding standards of behaviour and the law to investigate.”

Campaign group Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda (CURB) urged the community to reflect on what prompted this “divisive” sign.

“CURB has been concerned at the focus placed on the lady who held up a sign at Friday’s protest march and the bitter, vitriolic and angry posts on social media,” a spokeswoman said.

“CURB believes the sign was divisive and inflammatory, however, we do not condemn or judge this lady.

“Her sign is a symptom of her anger, pain and hurt, and society must ask itself what it has done to this lady that makes her need to carry this sign.

“Our society is not healthy — we have allowed a wound to fester and have never tried to heal it, much less pay it attention.

“Perhaps this lady’s poster is a sign to us that we must look inward not only at the individual level, but also as a community and deal with past pain and its present manifestations and distrust.

“We acknowledge it is hard for many white Bermudians to look at this hurtful sign without anger.

“However we have noted that, buried among the vitriol and condemnation online, there have also been white Bermudians and others posting a desire to understand something that is so disconnected from their perspective.”