On November 17, 2007, Mr. Stuart Hayward posted a letter in the Bermuda Sun whose declared intent was the following

"PLP campaign strategist Cal Smith recently chastised me in one of his public commentaries for not telling the stories about racial discrimination visited on my parents".

"I had written that Mr. Rolfe Commissiong's attitude and utterances about race issues were/are more divisive than healing, and that his appointment as consultant on race issues by Dr. Brown was a racially cynical and antagonistic move. I believe that still".

The rest of the letter continued with a host of criticisms that were obviously designed to portray me as a mere propagandist of the PLP campaign strategy.

My concern arises from the fact that in making his case, Mr. Hayward is quite liberal with his use of statements made by the UBP about the PLP generally and Dr. Brown in particular. Hence, I feel a need to comment on the negative and very pro-UBP tone of the Hayward article.

Let me begin by stating that I am not the PLP Campaign strategist. The last time I acted in that capacity was in 1998 at which time, as co-chairman of the PLP Campaign Committee, I created the election strategy that was passed without dissent by the PLP Central Committee.

Although I can take credit for putting the strategy on paper, my recommendations were based upon the collective views of the Campaign Committee and implemented by that committee led by the very intelligent and energetic PLP leader of that period — Dame Jennifer Smith.

My role in this election is as a mere member of the Campaign Committee which is Chaired by Mrs. Dawn Simmons. Mrs. Simmons is a veteran of several successful election campaigns in the Parish of Sandys and she is clearly making an excellent impression in the management of this campaign.

I make this point because I am getting tired of references by people like Mr. Hayward who seem to enjoy designating successful black effort to white assistance or to the performance of an exceptional black.

By means of this kind of propaganda, many blacks are kept bound up in destructive inferior feelings that makes possible their continuing victimisation by the white minority. People like Mr. Hayward fill me with disgust because they support this negative and destructive behaviour towards own race.

Mr. Hayward did not merely criticise Mr. Commissiong, he also lied. How could Mr. Commissiong be creating divisiveness when one considers that the exploitation of blacks was the objective of centuries of slavery followed by a century and a half of segregation.

This history has left black Bermudians with a disproportionately smaller share of property and extremely lower average incomes than that enjoyed by white Bermudians.

Any Bermudian with minimum integrity knows this and knows that this resulting evil of the past needs to be corrected with all deliberate speed. This will not occur as a result of the efforts of people like Mr. Hayward who try to play down the continuing impact of this history.

I don't know if Mr. Hayward's reference to the attempts of the PLP to get his father to refuse the Queen's honour was my fault. I make this point because many readers might reach this conclusion since the reference was included in an article designed to discredit myself.

However, my concern about the treatment of Mr. Hayward's father arises not merely from the vicious prejudice he suffered with dignity but also from the fact that the Hayward & Hayward ensemble did much more than create a group of magnificent singers.

They also created what amounted to a Youth Centre in the basement they rented from Mr. W. E. R. Joel. From this recreation centre, the leaders of the Ensemble developed some of the greatest table tennis players ever produced in Bermuda.

Mr. Hayward should not expect me to get excited about the treatment of his father by the PLP. I was expelled by the Progressive Labour Party, I stated within party circles and eventually in the public media that the PLP could not win the Government of Bermuda under the Leadership of Dame Lois Browne Evans.

However, I joined no other party as a result of my expulsion. This was because I believed that the impact of the disadvantages blacks have met in the past could only be removed by the PLP acting in concert with other blacks who were not members of the party but shared the same viewpoint.

As a result of that strongly held belief, I sat on the political sidelines for years until Mr. L. F. Wade invited me to help him rebuild the party.

Mr. Hayward's statement that the appointment of Mr. Commissiong by Premier Dr. Ewart Brown as consultant to head up the Bermuda Race Relations initiative was "a racially cynical and antagonistic move" is the most ridiculous statement in an article full of ridiculous comment.

Mr. Commissiong, is a very intelligent Bermudian who speaks his mind with respect to both foe and friend. For Mr. Hayward to suggest otherwise indicates that he does not know Mr. Commissiong at all.

Mr. Hayward would do well to realise that some blacks have been unable to accept the racism in Bermuda without an occasional outburst. Continuing to accept the frequent displays of racism in Bermuda, becomes even more difficult when there is a black government and, as a result, the political and economic repercussions that followed such outbursts in the past are unlikely to occur.

To refer to Dr. Brown as cynical because he appointed a very intelligent, articulate and fearless Bermudian to act as consultant on race leaves me baffled.

Is Mr. Hayward not aware that the UBP has appointed a former drug dealer to run in a safe seat in Pembroke, over the heads of several deserving young white men, because they feel they can only win the election by assuring black Bermudians that that the UBP is more likely to act in the best interests of black Bermudians than the 95 percent black PLP. Now that is cynical and antagonistic behaviour, if there ever was such a thing.

But more to the point, how does Mr. Hayward explain the introduction of the fast ferries; the lowering of air fares; and the introduction of the Grand Slam of Golf to Bermuda. Since these acts clearly benefited the major corporations that are overwhelmingly owned by whites.

Was this also an example of cynical and antagonistic behaviour? Or was it merely the effort of a wise leader to make certain that the tourist industry which is a major employer of Bermudians continues healthy and prosperous?

Finally, I wonder why Mr. Hayward chooses to parrot the phrase that "Whenever the PLP is criticised, they accuse the critic of racial motivations."

Actually nothing could be further from the truth. For years Premier Dr. Brown has been accused of corruption and he has not responded until recently when he announced the date of the General Election.

This accusation of corruption continued to be made by the media and the Leader of the opposition despite the fact that Dr. Brown had been cleared by an investigating team consisting of the Commissioner of Police, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Chief Justice, ably assisted by investigators from Scotland Yard.

Yet when the Premier responded to the charges recently, in a hard hitting speech, he was accused of negativity by the supporters of the UBP and Mr. Hayward. In addition, the leader of the opposition promised a clean campaign despite years of the opposite behaviour.

Mr. Hayward and his supporters need to stop hugging trees for a while and take a good look at the negativity and disadvantages that black Bermudians continue to face as a result of past and continuing racism by a few powerful Bermudians.