A white, expatriate Policemen — it’s not the demographic you would expect to worry a whole lot about racism.But that of course would be stereotypical thinking and it’s that which Inspector Craig Morfitt wants to help banish from Bermuda.

It’s a conviction that has led him to become a consultant for the Commission for Unity and Racial Equality.

It’s been a long journey from his roots in northern England where racism was not something he ever gave much thought to — other than a one-off school project. Indeed Insp. Morfitt, 47, is candid about his past and admits some of the things he has said and done have made him cringe.

“As a young adult I have told racist jokes. I have made racist statements.

“I have done things which would be deemed racist and I am ashamed of it.

“But I can look back and acknowledge that’s in my background and is something I have to deal with,” he said.

These days racist jokes and comments in any social setting are extremely rare said Insp. Morfitt who came to Bermuda as a Police constable in September 1984.

But that doesn’t mean Bermuda has beaten its race problem. Not by a long way.

“You don’t see that same overt racism that you see with bigotry over the sexual orientation issue. But when you get into conversations comments come out indicating a lot of stereotyping going on.

“In one of the Tim Wise workshops a white guy stood up in the audience and said: ‘Let’s get to the bottom of the issue. We all know that black people just waste their money. White people when they earn money put it into the business and make it stronger but black people buy cars and buy this and that.’

“That was an absolutely stereotypical view of an entire race of people but he didn’t see he was saying anything out of place. He thought he was correct and it is the reason we have a problem today.

“That is the type of thing we are looking at — the labelling of racial groups. The stereotypical thinking that goes on. That can be addressed by the ongoing discourse.”

Far too many people acquire stereotypical thinking through their backgrounds and never examine or discard them.

The consequences can be career damaging and life changing for those on the receiving end when that warped thinking influences important decisions such as hiring or renting out apartments, he believes.“If you are attributing any commonality to a racial group then it is probably wrong.

“I think some of the racist comments and things that people do may not be overt or intended. But it comes from your upbringing and your peer group and everything else.”

On occasions Insp. Morfitt has had to challenge general stereotyping in conversation and he is well aware the sweeping statements that come from all sides, even though the black community has suffered the most from institutionalised racism.

“Historically the white community is more likely to be in positions of power. The impact has been much more on the black community. It’s that impact which needs to be redressed but that is not to say all racial groups don’t engage in stereotypes. That has to be bad, whatever group you come from.

“In Bermuda it’s not really the overt racism which is an issue. It is not the KKK or skinheads overtly displaying racism or making outright racist comments.

“The thing which is more prevalent is the systemic racism, the institutionalised racism. The things that happen on a regular basis that over time grind at individuals as opposed to in-your-face, calling names.

“I have heard people say they encounter what appear to be racist acts on a daily basis. Somebody from a different background would say I don’t see anything.”

It’s a phenomena he has learned about on racism awareness courses which have struck a chord with him.

He did a diversity course more than five years ago which opened him up to be active in race relations.

“There’s always a lot of personal sharing and personal stories. Your horizons are greatly broadened, you gain a greater understanding from the sharing of others as to the impact of racism and various other ‘isms’ in Bermuda.

“I have always been struck by the willingness of people to share with total strangers their experiences which are obviously very painful at times.”

He’s well aware of the resistance to such seminars.

“You hear comments that range from ‘I am not a racist’ as far as ‘racism isn’t a problem anymore’.

“Certainly there is a viewpoint in Bermuda that racism is an issue from generations past and everything is fine now and if we stop talking about it then it will go away. I disagree with that.

“I have seen the impact of racism in the workshops. It is difficult as a white male — from the demographic that is deemed to have most of the power in society — to see things from a different perspective. You can think everything is fine so it could be tempting to dismiss it as non-existent.

“If you are able to listen and be open to other people’s experiences that alone gives you an insight into what’s happening.”

He said those in the black community needed acknowledgement of the impact of racism and how it has affected people right up to today.

“It is not just telling a story - it is acknowledgement that the things that happened.”

Some race advisors have suggested reparations as a next step said Insp. Morfitt — not necessarily cash payments to individuals but maybe Government programmes for communities hit hard by racism.

“I don’t know if that is a route we as a country want to go to but you can’t even start to think about those unless you have properly addressed the issue and acknowledged the state of it.”

Despite his keen interest Insp. Morfitt stresses he is by no means an expert on race relations.

“I am simply one of many people who are committing time and effort to address the issue of racism in Bermuda.”

Personal circumstances play a part. Inspector Morfitt married Beverley, a black Bermudian in 1988, and the couple have two daughters aged 21 and 16.

“It would be fair to say that I have a vested interest in improving race relations in Bermuda due to my interracial marriage and the fact that my daughters are black or bi-racial.”

But he believes the white community as a whole has a vested interest in coming to the table to actively deal with the issues of race and racism.

“We will all benefit as part of a healthier community.

“It can be uncomfortable at times but I firmly believe that we have to be willing to discuss issues of race openly and honestly if we are to have any chance of healing the community.”

He said white people needn’t feel they are going to run a gauntlet of animosity if they attend a racism awareness session. Insp. Morfitt said some whites raised the point that they couldn’t be held responsible for the sins of their forefathers.

“But do you acknowledge you have benefited as the result of it? That is a different way of looking at it.

“If we don’t discuss how can we begin to move forward? It has not moved forward to the degree it should so far. I do think it is getting better but there are still people feeling the brunt.”

Often it’s difficult to determine when something is racist or not. But Insp. Morfitt said the on-going racism was a very real problem with some people complaining of being regularly followed around by shop staff. Asked how racism discussions could help those still affected he said: “If you can get the meaningful discourse started, and a survey can help with this as well, if you start to get a true understanding of what racism looks like in Bermuda today — how widespread it is and how it manifests itself — that allows you to go the next step. “If all of that discourse and research showed being followed by a store detective was an issue then that allows you to start looking at educating store detectives. But if you are not able to in the first place identify it as an issue then you clearly can’t educate people if you don’t know it’s an issue.

“Getting into the discourse brings out the impact of where those problem areas lay and it allows you to move forward.”

Surprisingly he doesn’t attribute his changed views on race to his marriage to a black woman, although it is a factor.

“She is not one who experiences any obvious racism that she’s aware of and I have heard that from other people too. But there are others who do feel it. Just because one person doesn’t feel it, it doesn’t mean when the other person does it is not real.”

After more CURE training over the last two years Insp. Morfitt now runs racism awareness courses for Police recruits and helps on other courses for CURE. But he believes serious progress will need a bit more than little groups in rooms every couple of months.

“There has been an improvement over the last 20 years but there is still ground to be gained.

“We have to get to a situation as a country where we are having meaningful discussions so we understand racism from the perspective of different groups, what does it mean to all the groups. What is it’s impact?

“So that each of the different racial and ethnic groups have a clear understanding of each other’s positions.

“That is critical because without that it is difficult to move forward. I think that is what the latest race relations initiative coming out of the Cabinet is trying to do.”When all the talking is done people will still think differently but perhaps understand a bit more. It’s hard to quantify how well Bermuda is doing said Insp. Morfitt but he believes we are way ahead of the US and if this island can talk about and tackle its pockets of racism it could be a world leader. Despite Bermuda’s rumbling racial tensions, living in a mixed race couple has not been a challenge.

“In 18 years of marriage I have only had one overt comment which came from a black male who said I should stick to my own kind.

“If you look around Bermuda interracial relationships abound in Bermuda. It’s never been an issue. Never been any discomfort involved. If people didn’t know us people might look at my wife and I and make the assumption we are totally different, based purely on skin tone.

“But in actual fact we are so much alike and so compatible it is amazing. We tend as a community, and indeed the world, to get so tied up on skin colour, but it really is just the surface packaging.

“I don’t say that to detract from all of the ethnic and cultural identity which goes along with race. But people might think we are so different — but we are not.”

Time to remove the race labels