Premier Dr. Ewart Brown's announcement on Tuesday that Government has commissioned Columbia University Professor Ronald Mincy to conduct a new study on black males in Bermuda should be welcomed.

There is still some mystery over why former Bermuda College lecturer Roy Wright's report has never been made public, but the fact a full study is being done by a respected academic who has spent much of his career examining this very question in the US is good news.

Still Professor Mincy needs to beware of two things. The first is to ensure that while there are parallels between the black community in the US and the black community in Bermuda, the two are not the same, and that both the diagnosis of "the problem" and the cure may well be different.

The second is that he must have some kind of guarantee that this report will not meet the fate of Dr. Wright's or, almost as bad, the fate of so many other reports and commissions that have been announced with great fanfare and are then forgotten about. Too often in Bermuda, the report is seen as the cure rather than as a starting point.

A quick Google search on Professor Mincy reveals that he is a deep thinker who has considered this issue, and problems facing black families in the US generally, very carefully.

Equally importantly, it is difficult to see any particular political bias in his work. He seems to be a man who will take good ideas from anywhere and use them, so it is reasonable to assume that he will approach Bermuda with an open mind.

It is unlikely that Professor Mincy will need any help in gathering statistical data or formulating his approach so at the risk of being redundant, he should look at the following areas.

The 2000 Census report reveals some interesting and surprising statistics. One is that among Bermudians, black males are not the worst off financially. That dubious distinction belongs to females, and the disparity is more glaring for household income where the head of the household is female.

That may beg the question of whether this study is being targeted at the most disadvantaged segment of the Bermudian population. But when other factors are taken into account, there is good reason for it. Even if black males earn more than black females – but less than either white males or females – in other areas, it is clear that the black male population is in crisis.

Black males lag behind every other segment of the population in terms of educational attainment, which has a direct effect on income and career opportunities, make up the vast majority of the prison population, die younger and are more likely to be employed in "blue collar work" and less likely to be employed in management or professional positions.

The Census is not always helpful in defining differences between, for example, black and white Bermudian males. But the broad picture stands. In most ways, apart from income, black males tend to be disadvantaged.

Professor Mincy then faces some prickly and difficult questions, some of which verge on the politically incorrect. How much of this is due to failings in the education system? To what degree is the breakdown in the family structure responsible, and what do you do about it? How much of a part does institutional racism have a role to play in it, especially given the unusual nature of Bermuda's work force and its heavy dependence on foreign workers? Does the influence of the media, both within Bermuda and without, play a part in promoting stereotypes?

These are hard questions and Professor Mincy has his work cut out for him. But he deserves support.