Forty-threeyears ago they were tight-lipped, constantly on guard against exposure, and meeting clandestinely. Today, members are basking in the glow of public approval following sell-out screenings of Errol Williams' film, `When Voices Rise', which tells the story of how they, as members of The Progressive Group, dismantled segregation in Bermuda.

Until 1959, blacks and whites lived very separate lives, with blacks being denied access to hotels, restaurants, night clubs, and most of the job market. Educational opportunities were fewer, but unlike their forebears, the generation of the day knew that the key to a better future was education. So they studied, both in school and during their leisure time at home, encouraged by their elders. It was a quiet, patient revolution that laid the groundwork for change which their teachers and preachers told them would come one day.

Little did some realise, however, that they would become the very instruments for change which would free their people from the bounds of segregation. In fact, it wasn't until they went abroad to university that their eyes would be truly opened - to an integrated society, to limitless job opportunities, to respect and acceptance based, not on the colour of their skin, but who they were as individuals.

Small wonder then, that when they returned home with their degrees in hand, these young professionals found the barriers that kept them apart from the rest of society deeply offensive and totally unacceptable. Inevitably, desegregation became a prominent topic among some of them as they socialised in the privacy of their homes. When someone suggested that like thinkers should band together to do something about it, the chrysalis of change was born. Its name was the Progressive Group, and membership was strictly limited to a trusted few. Loyalty was the key, and secrecy the watchword, for retribution from the white community could be swift and harsh. All-important mortgages on homes, for example, could be recalled in a matter of days. Those embarking on such a radical course were under no illusion that it was dangerous undertaking, and they needed steely resolve, unflinching courage, and above all, a determination to see the goal achieved.

Other groups had, from time to time, protested the status quo, but this group was different. It would, at all times, be focussed and faceless, and operate in secrecy. To achieve this, everyone took enormous care to cover their tracks and preserve their anonymity. Not even their closest friends and family knew what they were up to.

The boycotting of the Playhouse and Little Theatres was well planned and carefully executed, and very much rocked the racist boat. To calls from the Establishment to negotiate, the Progressives said: "No." Promises that change would come when the Rosebank Theatre was built met with the same response. Crowds of protesters gathered in front of the movie theatres over several nights to prevent entry. Unseen in the dead of night the Progressive Group put up hand-made posters around the Island. The issue gained momentum and was clearly not going to go away.

Finally, the struggle was over, the battle won. Desegregation was a fact.

For decades, most members of the group proudly retained their anonymity, for personal glory was never an issue, but now their names are household, thanks in part to Erroll Williams' documentary. `When Voices Rise', received its premiere screenings at the Southside Cinema and the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute last weekend under the auspices of the Bermuda International Film Festival, the capacity audiences rewarded Mr. Williams and members of the Progressive Group with a standing ovation

For many, the story was new. For others, it was a journey back in time, with mixed memories, but everyone learned something from it.

What were the Progressive Group members thinking as they viewed the documentary? What did they feel as they rose to accept the plaudits of the audience?

"I was very pleased with the public's reaction," Dr. Ratteray says. "The film was essentially accurate, but if I had a wish it would be that a poster I have always remembered and liked was included. During Bermuda's 350th anniversary the theme was, `This Island's Mine', but our poster said, `This Island's mine too'. I have always remembered that poster as expressing the feeling of what we were about."

Although they were not members of the Progressive Group, Dr. Ratteray paid tribute to the roles Kingsley Tweed and Richard (Comrade) Lynch - both of whom are included in the film - played in the success of the theatre boycott.

"They took it upon themselves to harangue the crowd, providing entertainment and information, and we were also pleased when they continued to respond to our suggestions when we decided to have a motorcade to Somerset and St. George's. All of that was important."

When Dr. Ratteray returned home as a qualified dentist after studying at Mount Allison and McGill universities in Canada, the strictures of segregation were too galling to accept.

"We could only go to the Blue Jay or Spot restaurants, and when a classmate came down on holiday, the only place I could amuse him was at the Clayhouse Inn," he remembers.

Dr. Ratteray found the film evocative, and while he is proud to have played a role in effecting change, he is under no illusion that the group's goals have been fully accomplished.

"There is still too much suspicion among both groups to make the kind of progress we hoped for, but the foundation for an open racial society is there. Now it is for the people, black and white, to build on it," he says. "I get the impression that there is real effort in this regard, and I think we have made a lot of progress based on where we came from."

Looking at Bermuda now, Mrs. Marva Phillips also has concerns about what has been accomplished.

"Segregation was very overt 40 years ago," the former school principal says. "My concern now is: How much progress have we made? As we look at a different set of problems which are very covert in our society I think racism has gone under cover and is subtle. In some ways I think Bermuda needs another awakening because of all the problems we are facing now regarding race, caste..."

Today, Mrs. Phillips sees society as being divided more along socio-economic lines - the haves and have nots - and suggests private schools are partly to blame.

"I would like to dismantle all of the private schools because I think they are keeping the line of demarcation between the haves and have-nots. I think we are breeding that now."

While acknowledging the existence of social division along material lines, fellow Progressive Group member Dr. Clifford Maxwell disagrees that abolishing private schools is the answer.

"I wouldn't close the private schools, I would make the public schools better because if people have a viable choice they will go to the public schools," he says. "We are divided up into social classes now. The whole idea of white superiority is still there."

The importance of education in ultimately leading the Progressive Group to successfully dismantle segregation was repeatedly stressed as members recalled the influences and injustices which affected them growing up.

Mrs. Florenz Maxwell attended Central (now Victor Scott) School, whose principal decided it would be the best school on the Island, bar none. He worked assiduously to build his students' self-esteem and ensure that they reached their full potential. As a result, they took great pride in their school and received an excellent education. Many went on to Berkeley Institute and university. Mr. Scott also entered his students in every competition possible, yet they never won first or second prize.

"Saltus and BHS always got those prizes, and our students got a `Special Prize'," Mrs. Maxwell remembers. "For years I thought `Special' was better than first until the truth struck me. I learned early that if white people were afraid to give us what we deserved, then something was wrong with them. Racism never made sense to us."

Mrs. Phillips remembers Berkeley Institute principal Mr. Furbert constantly exhorting his students to "get your education so when the day comes you will be ready. Hold your head up high and do your best".

"Our motto was, `Keep the end in view' and we really believed that," she says.

Recalling that opportunities for professional black women were limited to hairdressing, teaching and nursing, Mrs. Phillips says Bermudians' eyes were truly opened when they went abroad for further education and saw the unlimited opportunities available.

"The wool was pulled from our eyes. We could see segregation for what it was worth, and we realised that people should be accepted for who they were and not by the colour of their skin. That was a real revelation. Coming back to Bermuda we just weren't going to take it any longer. We realised we were going to marry and have children and we didn't want them to come into the same situation based on their skin colour."

Like many others, Izola and Gerald Harvey wanted a better world for their children, which is why they became involved in the Progressive Group.

Mr. Harvey remembers an occasion when he was invited to meet a guest at a local hotel. Although the man was black, he passed as white. As he and Mr. Harvey were enjoying a drink in the lounge a man emerged from a door and then retreated. Shortly afterwards, the guest was summoned to reception, where he was told to get Mr. Harvey out of the hotel. The guest was appalled and vowed to expose Bermuda as a Jim Crow resort. Meanwhile, the duo had to continue their visit in the hotel grounds. Small wonder, then, that the Harvey children were raised never to look down on anyone, and their parents placed heavy emphasis on giving them a first class education.

Mr. Harvey admits that his reaction to `When Voices Rise' was "very emotional".

"My eyes watered because it brought back good and bad memories, and I thought, `Boy, oh boy, we really did take a risk'," he says. "People can say what they like but we folks really did something that others were not doing. Recently I attended a meeting at the BIU, and after hearing what some people had done, a young guy got up and said, `I am not going to listen to you old folks anyway because you haven't done anything. We have an agenda of our own,' so maybe the film will do some good."

The documentary had a similar effect on Mrs. Phillips.

"Although I have seen other members of the Progressive Group over the years, I suddenly realised, `Wow, this really did happen'. It took us back 42 years, and I felt excited. I felt jubilant that we had given such a contribution to Bermuda. We wanted to make change to the social ills in our community. We didn't go public for our own glorification."

Amid all the adulation, members of the Progressive Group have been disappointed to note that others, they believe out of jealousy, have attempted to belittle their achievement all those years ago, or are falsely claiming credit for being part of their group.

"The difference between other groups and ours was that we were a secret group which dismantled segregation. People look at the movement now and they are jealous," Dr. Maxwell says. "We appreciated that all of the groups rallied to the cause even if they didn't know who the mystery group was, but now that the group is known, the message is getting distorted."

Because there seemed to be some confusion in viewers' minds following the screenings, he also notes that not everyone interviewed in the film was a member of the Progressive Group.

One thing of which the members are particularly proud is that they achieved their historic break-through without violence - a lesson they hope today's young people will learn: that it is possible to effect change peacefully.

"When I saw the film I was moved in a very frightening way," Mrs. Maxwell says. "When I look back at what happened, we were secretive and we preached non-violence. Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi preached non-violence and they were both assassinated. We have to be grateful that we were not branded `cowards' or `hoodlums', which is what they are saying now. Back then people didn't know who the mystery group was. Mystery was not only important but it had a tremendous impact. People listened, and behind the scenes the mystery group controlled the crowds. Actually, we had no real control over what happened in the streets, but the elements and various groups thought we did. There were militant groups speaking out, but they accepted our message of non-violence. In fact, Richard Lynch said, `We are doing everything else right, so non-violence makes sense too'."

That no-one in the group ever spilt the beans, broke ranks, or gave themselves away remains a source of pride today. Certainly, their plan was well thought out and executed. No detail to preserve the mystery of their identity was overlooked, and no slip-ups were made. They were extremely careful about being seen together, and when a much-needed duplicating machine was required, two visitors physically made the purchase on their behalf. When not in use, it was hidden in the ceiling of Ed and Rosalind Williams' home. Today it survives in the Maxwell home - a proud reminder of "the little team that could."

Looking back on those difficult and dangerous days, the Harveys and Mrs. Maxwell summed up the basis of the group's success based on church services they attended the day after they saw the documentary.

"The minister said he prayed that we would attend because he wanted to introduce the children to us," Mr. Harvey says. "He directed them to look at the two people who had helped to bring about change in Bermuda, and that is when I felt peace."

While the sermon was in progress, Mrs. Maxwell mused on the fact that there was never an informant in the Progressive Group, and she questioned how that could have happened.

"Then I heard the priest say, `God is always with us' and I thought, `That's the answer.' The priest preached peace and that is what we did too. When I look at the names of the Progressive Group, we have all gone on to make some differences in this community, and people have benefited by the way we live. We are an example."