On Saturday afternoon, a lady walked up to another lady and gave her a firm hug. She then went on to say that she was so happy that she had brought her two sons to learn about their African history and culture.

With tears in her eyes, she went on to state that she had wished that as a child she had grown up with the knowledge that Africa and Africans had created so much over the course of thousands of years. She had a sense of both relief for her sons and regret for herself and those of her generations and generations preceding them.

Denied history

As inhabitants of a British colony, black Bermudians have been indoctrinated for centuries that everything good comes from England and Europe, while anything from Africa or the Caribbean was negative.

If we look around this Island, there is nothing of significance attributed to Africa, while we cannot drive anywhere without overt reminders that we are a colony of the United Kingdom.

What many fail to admit is that black Bermudians have been denied knowledge of our rich African and Caribbean history. Whether it is via an education system that pushes only a Eurocentric point of view, or via a society steeped in structural racism that subtly suppresses African history and culture, we have a people who lack much of their own history and identity.

Hunger for knowledge

It is this hunger for knowledge of self, knowledge of their ancestors and their history that drove nearly 400 persons to the Liberty Theatre on Saturday. Ranging in age from 19 to 90, they came with their friends, their siblings, their children and their spouses.

Skilled tradesmen, accountants, lawyers, teachers, preachers, students, business persons, medical professionals. All were in attendance

Before the event, they embraced each other warmly and spoke of the need for events such as these to be more commonplace. Who could get a seat sat; who could not get a seat stood.

Every eye and every ear fixed on the lecture and slides provided by Professor James Small, who has dedicated his life to learning about African culture and passing that on to all who choose to take in the learning.

With this knowledge, persons of African descent have found an inner sense of pride that cannot be described. There is something that cannot be described when people find out that they are so much more than simply descendants of slaves.

Structural racism

Recently during a radio interview, education minister Wayne Scott was asked why Bermudian children were not taught African or Caribbean history in our public schools.

His answer was basically because we get our books from America and Canada. Suffice it to say, this answer sums up the mindset of those in authority over the past 400 years: the only thing Bermudians must learn is from a Western/colonial perspective.

This leads back to this unfortunate reality.

If people wish to learn about African or Caribbean history, they will have to purchase their own books and DVDs; they will have to seek and support those who accurately and responsibly research and present African and Caribbean history.

Most of all, they must never again let those in power get away with not incorporating African history in our school curriculums.

Too many generations have lost out on the knowledge of their African history.

With scientific proof that Africa is the mother of civilisation, it is clear that African history is world history.