IT is with more than a bit of ambivalence that I ponder the prospect of the convening of a commission of inquiry to look into the plight of young black males, so-called, in Bermuda.

I have this ambivalence because I doubt if a clear enough line is going to be drawn between young black males, who are considered to be having difficulty fitting into society (they do cause many of the problems now faced by law enforcement and the like) and the black male population as a whole ? well-adjusted men who pretty much get on with life and who make positive contributions to this community.

Despite the fact Bermuda boasts a majority black population, there is a stereotypical view of black people ? and of the black male in particular ? in this community which is based on race. The black male is likely to have suffered the most from this. Ever since the black man has found himself living in a white society in a state of powerlessness he has been the subject of racial and sexual stereotypes.

The black male image has been battered, maligned and put upon by academics determined to find a scientific reason to prove the supposed inferiority of the black man to the Press and Hollywood which, for the most part, doesn't readily show the black man in a good light.

For the most part when society ponders the image of the black male in society, it is hard to look beyond the stereotypical image of the black man ? and this comes down to a view of a perpetual crime-drugs-violence-prone lifestyle and a lack of any sense of responsibility, especially when it comes to looking after his children.

This warped picture is a very hard thing for the black male population to shake even if, as is the case in Bermuda, the overwhelming majority of black males are not engaged in criminal or anti-social activities.

Many more of us love and support our children than neglect them ? but it is the negative behaviour of a small minority that captures the public's attention and it's this negative image that is then applied indiscriminately to us all.

WHAT concerns me the most about this upcoming commission on young black males is that it starts from the premise that dysfunctional behaviour on the part of black males is supposedly linked to living in a society that, as a result of historical racism, has made them give up and therefore engage in disruptive activity which is against society's best interests and, in the long run, their own interests.

But that does not explain how the rest of us survive and have not become dysfunctional in society even though there were times when it would seem that Bermuda society had no interest in seeing us succeed.

It is interesting that some of the conventional opinions would have us accept that part of the problem lies in the fact that too many male children are being raised by women, mostly their mothers, without the benefit of the influence of a male. Sociologists have long been asking the question as to whether a woman can raise a boy child to become a man ? that is a functional man who will engage in society rather than disrupt it.

I have long thought about this question as well and I can only attempt to answer it by drawing from my own personal experience.

I was, in fact, brought up by two women, my grandmother and mother and conventional wisdom would have you believe that a male child without the influence of a male in the household was a candidate for two possible futures ? either becoming effeminate and perhaps heading towards a homosexual lifestyle or growing up into a lawless young male, a terror to his community and his country as a whole.

I can say that neither myself nor my brothers suffered either fate. And this was mostly because I had a strong and principled grandmother who taught me values that still influence me to this day.

I remember the day that I declared my independence as a male. My grandmother was always very protective of her charges and it happened during the first year I attended high school.

After the school day ended is when we had inter-school football games. To attend one, I did not go home after school right away ? which I had always done ? and, of course, my worried grandmother had the whole neighbourhood out looking for me.

On the way home from the football game I met up with this search party who told me and my boys that my grandmother had sent them out looking for me. Of course, I was extremely embarrassed and upon reaching home let this fact be known in no uncertain terms. Funny, as I recall, my grandmother said nothing and from then on she sort of let me go.

That's why I say she was very wise and had, in fact, despite being a woman, taught me how to be a man. I still sought out her advice in the years to come. And she had a long life experience to share with her grandchildren.

I am not sure that remains the case today. Grandmothers are young and they want to be called "Nana" (to me that name conjures up the doting dog in , not a strong domestic law-giver) and I sometimes wonder what they are teaching their grandchildren.

In many cases it cannot be the same as what I learned from my grandmother, advice and guidance which had in fact helped me to enter manhood.

THIS is not to say that we should depend on women alone to raise our male children. There is most definitely a role that should be played by some of our more delinquent. In other words they should come out of the bars and clubs and carry out their responsibilities to their sons and daughters who need to have their fathers in their lives during their formative years.

I would hope that any commission would take into consideration some of the points I have raised even though the lingering impact of racism doubtless plays a role in what has gone wrong with some of our black males.

But the reality is that not all of our young black males are in crisis and Bermuda's divided racial past has not made all black males unable to cope in this society.

I am not going to prejudge this commission, but I will be watching its deliberations and studying its final conclusions very carefully.