January 15, 2014

Dear Sir,

Upon surveying the existing dismal condition of innumerable Bermudians of African ascent (I like to think in terms of upward movement/a people rising, coming out of, and not descent — downward) I find myself imprisoned in a dungeon of despair.

As my nights birth new days I wrestle, during my wakeful hours, with thoughts of how I could effectively and swiftly change this state — would it take loads of money; more local and international African-owned businesses plunging their stakes into the heart of Bermuda’s economic vampire; or a lengthy, urgent letter to the Creator to attend to the forsaken, good people that we are?

Zapped by reality that I couldn’t possibly do this alone — it occurred to me that an intentioned individual effort on the part of the collective African family would have to be undertaken. I concluded that the place to begin the change would be for one to start sowing and cultivating the original, ancient seeds of knowledge of self.

Whilst entertaining that thought, I remembered the words of Marcus Mosiah Garvey: “A people without knowledge of their past is like a tree without roots.”

Following that I remembered an article which I had extracted almost twenty-one years ago from The Royal Gazette, dated Monday, June 7, 1993, Page 2, and it is this timely article which I have chosen to share, verbatim, with my African family.

Family, I trust that you will not only allow the contents to lodge in your psyche, but use to get your lives right — self included, for the sake of the whole. More now than ever, we need to be about the business of saving our burning village.

Peggy Burns

St. David’s Island

The subject article is headed “Black Bermudians told not to compromise”

Blacks in Bermuda must unite and restore the power that “rightfully” belongs to them.

One of America’s top authors, lecturers and clinical psychologist — Dr. Na’im Akbar delivered this compelling message to 300 people who packed a big tent at Frog Lane Field on Friday night.

Dr. Akbar, who is no stranger to Bermuda and has appeared on top US talk shows including Oprah, Donahue, and Geraldo, was invited back to Bermuda by the black-role-model group 100 Black Men Plus.

He stressed that blacks should not waste energy on hating whites or trying to talk them out of racism.

“Racism is a power strategy rooted in an ideology of white supremacy,” he said. “It is to ensure that those who have superior access to technology, education and decision-making continue to have that.

“And we need to understand no one is going to voluntarily relinquish their power.”

But instead of making direct confrontation with racism their primary agenda, Dr. Akbar said blacks, including “African Bermudians” must decide to be themselves and be determined not to compromise who they are for anything.

“It is only when people see you not relinquishing, that power (racism) will concede.”

He said blacks must realise their powerlessness is not accidental.

“It is not accidental that we have the lowest-paying jobs,” he said. “It is not accidental that our children get the least when it comes to education. It is not accidental that we pay the most for the least when it comes to housing.

Dr. Akbar said blacks must remember they were kidnapped and dragged to the west as slaves.

Europeans intended for them to be a permanent cheap labour class.

“The most important thing was to rob us of our cultural heritage, lingual heritage, or anything that would give us knowledge of who we are,” Dr. Akbar said. “Slaves consistently do nothing for themselves because they believe someone must do it for them. But a slave that knows who he or she is does not act like a slave. In fact, they consistently resist slavery at every cost. So it was important that we didn’t know who we were.”

Dr. Akbar said once blacks understood this, they needed strategies to determine their own worth.

The first strategy, he said, was for African Bermudians to know who they are.

“Geographically you’re trapped in the middle of Europe and the US,” he said. One day you’re British, the next you’re American. You’re constantly going back and forth between two white supremacist powers, neither of which like you. We were slaves of both.”

Dr. Akbar stressed that blacks must establish their identity as African people — who have existed since the beginning of time.

“Africa is wherever you choose to be,” he added.

Dr. Akbar also noted blacks were the first to discover many things and concepts attributed to whites, including maps of the world, the solar system, and various philosophies.

“Self-awareness is the foundation of self identity. Once our children know that they will want to be like themselves and bring to this Island the uniqueness of African people.”

Dr. Akbar said once blacks know who they are they can also begin to put together financial co-operatives and build banks, schools and communities for themselves.

And, he said, they will not have to patronise businesses — including “the newspaper” that does not support or accurately represent them.