It is not uncommon to hear the term “post-racial”, or it being alluded to, in public discourse.

In its most basic context, it is the notion that race no longer matters in society. Yet, when statistical and social data are analysed, there are stark differences by race, with one race, those of European descent, faring significantly better than others in Bermuda.

Race, as much as it is a social construct, continues to have an impact and Bermuda has not moved into a post-racial era.

In the Bermudian context, CURB views racial justice as a process where there is healing from past hurts, educational enlightenment, economic opportunity and alignment, a movement towards restorative justice, and measures put in place to ensure its sustainability.

CURB, as Bermuda’s only racial justice organisation, has reviewed many government-commissioned reports over the past 50 years to address the racial disparities that continue to exist in Bermuda, and has spent many hours discussing how to address the continuing economic disparities and disconnect.

Bermuda’s struggles with racism are a microcosm of what occurs in many countries elsewhere. In a community as small as Bermuda, there is a very real opportunity to make extraordinary steps towards real change in the area of race relations.

In the lead-up to the 2012 General Election, CURB released its Racial Justice Platform, listing key recommendations compiled from research, advocacy and educational work that has been carried out in the community over the past 11 years. In that document, we highlighted the urgent need to implement equality impact assessments (EIA) to evaluate and assess the likely or actual effects on people of legislation, policies or services in respect of disability, gender and racial equality.

Using an EIA ensures that the needs of people are taken into account when we develop, implement or review legislation, policy or services. This ensures that no legislation unintentionally has negative consequences on a specific group of people.

We have read Jamahl Simmons’s opinion published in The Royal Gazette on August 27 and fully support his call for equality impact assessments. There is no doubt that racial inequalities continue to exist in our community, as is evidenced all too clearly in the 2010 Census. As Mr Simmons states, these inequalities span across higher education, hiring, career advancement, wages, access to capital, home ownership and criminal sentencing.

Mr Simmons detailed a number of jurisdictions in the United States that use EIAs. In Britain, EIAs are supported by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and are considered a valid tool to help businesses, colleges, organisations and clubs to ensure that their policies, practices and decisions are fair, meet the needs of their staff, customers, clients or students, and are not inadvertently discriminating against any group.

Instituting EIAs is one of many first steps our community needs to make in the thousand-step journey towards racial justice and racial reconciliation in Bermuda.

• Lynne Winfield is the vice-president of CURB (Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda)