Tomorrow marks the playing of Cup Match, Bermuda's annual two-day holiday when the Island's best cricketers battle for bragging rights between St. George's and Somerset.

But the holiday means much more than that.

It was begun by rival Masonic lodges in the East and West Ends of the Island to commemorate Emancipation and in recent years, this aspect of "the Game" has, rightly, been given greater exposure.

It also celebrates Somers Day, and marks the beginning of the settlement of the Island following the wreck of the Sea Venture.

As such, this is a holiday in which all Bermudians can take pride, because it celebrates the two most important dates in the Island's history: the founding of the Island and the beginning of the recognition that all people are indeed created equal and have equal rights.

Emancipation Day did not fully establish the latter principle; that would take many more years. But it was the starting point and for that reason should be celebrated.

Still, it remains an open question of whether Bermuda has fully reached the point of full equality.

Certainly, equality was established in law as a result of the dramatic changes of the late 1950s and 1960s and Bermuda can be proud in the sense that few other countries have accomplished so much so peacefully.

But that does not mean that Bermuda can be satisfied. If black and white residents of Bermuda work together, they don't necessarily play together.

In other areas, such as education, Bermuda may be more segregated today than it was 20 years ago.

The biggest gap in Bermuda is economic. Whites, both Bermudian and non-Bermudian, are disproportionately represented in managerial and professional jobs.

That invariably leads to higher incomes, and when that is combined with the traditional dominance of whites over many of the Island's older businesses, it creates a wealth gap that is difficult to bridge.

But it is not unbridgeable. The best answer lies in education and training and here the Government deserves credit for its continued efforts to provide technical and professional education.

While this benefits blacks and white Bermudians, as it should, black Bermudians who take up the opportunities provided will narrow the wealth gap.

Of course there will be obstacles. But this remains the most effective means of narrowing gap, more than "seizing control of the means of production" or affirmative action programmes that tend to benefit the already successful.

How much better it would be to raise educational standards, demand more of all of Bermuda's students and provide the funding to enable all who are qualified to go to accredited and reputable colleges around the world so that they can return to the Island to compete on an equal footing.

Now that's a dream with realising.