Hot on the heels of Commission for Unity and Racial Equality's (CURE) white on white seminars comes the announcement of a series of open forums for black people only.

The talks, on black on black relationships, are planned for the month of October with the first one set for October 4 at the New Testament Church of God's Heritage Hall.

David Wilson, executive officer of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) which is cosponsoring the talks with the National Association for Reconciliation (NAR), told The Royal Gazette that CURE's initiative and the current one were just two examples of how the climate for discussing race relations had improved since the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) came into power.

"We hope to get a variety of people to speak to the issue," said NAR's Eva Hodgson.

A pre-planning meeting held last week had considered a number of angles to the topic, she added. Dr. Hodgson is particularly interested in "racist behaviour mimicked by the black community".

Called "Black on Black: Let's Talk" the talks will depart from standard format by not having a panel of speakers.

Dr. Hodgson has criticised CURE for not addressing the impact of racism on black relationships.

"Black people have to be educated about this in order for them to respond," she said. "NAR, like many others in the community, is concerned about the violence among black males. However, with the support of the HRC we would like to go beyond the specific issue of violence."

Black people need to examine to what extent they had "unwittingly and unconsciously accepted the concept that we are inferior," she continued.

Asked why the HRC is involved in the initiative, Acting Executive Officer David Wilson said it was about peace.

"The Human Rights Commission has two statutory mandates - education and investigation," he said.

"But I suppose you could say we have a wider mandate which is not quite statutory - it's one of peace. It's about peace really. We encourage peace and the harmony of races and in this particular case we're addressing something which is within a race."

He said he was hoping that the open forums will attract a lot of interest. "I believe it is definitely worth the time. This is a very serious matter and it needs to be addressed."

When asked, Mr. Wilson said that he detected an improved climate for public discussion of race relations since the PLP came into power.

He said: "I think so. I think we've seen initiatives by this Government which encourage honest discussion about race."

CURE's white on white seminar was the most recent example, he said, adding: "Now we have blacks having a closer look at themselves. The climate is better."