Blacks continue to be on the bottom end of American and Bermudian society because they have not yet learned how to cope with racism, a visiting speaker said last week.

And until the black community begins to hold its elected officials accountable, there is little chance that this situation will be redressed.

American author Dr. Claud Anderson made these remarks during a keynote address to a packed 100 Black Men Forum at the St. Paul Centennial Hall last Thursday.

In a multi-pronged two hour speech that was punctuated several times by applause, Dr. Anderson analysed the historical and political roots of the present-day crisis in some black communities.

"You are not guests in this land,'' he said. "You walk on sacred ground paid for by the blood, the sweat and tears, the trials and tribulations of all our grandparents and fore parents.

"You're not guests in Bermuda. You're not guests in any other land inhabited by black folk.'' He launched a scathing attack on black conservatives and integration and he challenged the audience to worry less about political partisanship and more on amassing wealth within their own communities.

"The issue is not what party you belong to,'' he said. "The issue is that black folk have failed to develop effective strategies to deal with white racism.'' Dr. Anderson said that blacks must worry less about political affiliations and more about the individual who can "write a contract .. . and deliver.'' Furthermore, Dr. Anderson said the black community must learn how to play the political game to its advantage.

"Voting has no power,'' he continued. "I don't care what anybody tells you.

If you don't have economic power behind it, voting has no power.

Dr. Anderson said the black community needed to hold its political candidates to contracts that deliver specific things that are needed. If the officials do not produce what is asked for then the community should vote them out of office.

However, he said, there were other methods that could be used to ensure elected official fulfilled their election promises.

"What you have got to do is to start using direct economic pressure on the people that can get through. If big department stores are supporting and he is not delivering, you start boycotting that major store.'' But this accountability must be spread broader than the politicians, he added, it must suffuse the entire community.

To do this blacks needed to decide what the standard of behaviour was to be in their community and stick to it.

If the community wanted to stamp out drug dealing for example, Dr. Anderson said, the first step would be to understand the economic circumstances of the dealer and then provide him with realistic alternatives.

Should the dealer choose not to follow the community's wishes, then some form of sanction should be put in place to ensure accountability.

Dr. Claud Anderson