Premier Ewart Brown yesterday pledged school children will start to study their own history from September as he viewed a statue of Sally Bassett, a black slave who was burned to death in 1730.

He took the media for a sneak peak at the larger than life figure being worked on by Bermudian sculptor Carlos Dowling in Dockyard. Dr. Brown said: “I believe is important for Bermuda to confront its own history.

“We are not the first people to make sure our history is properly recorded. I admire the Jews who will not let the world forget about the Holocaust. We must, in Bermuda, be not afraid to engage in the conversation and the reality of our past. This is something that happened in Bermuda.”

He said cities around the world had statues of their civic heroes and leaders.

“This is consistent with the present intention to introduce in September into Bermuda’s curriculum courses and classes pertaining to Bermuda’s history,” Dr. Brown said. “It is somewhat embarrassing that in 2007 we are talking about the introduction of such curricula changes. But nonetheless the best time to start is always now.”

A list of required reading is being compiled by a committee.

The fibreglass model of Sally Bassett will be transformed into a bronze statue but Dr. Brown said he was not sure where it will be sited although a location will be chosen within the next couple of months.

“There’s some confusion — it’s not totally clear where the event happened. Some people say it happened at Crow Lane, some people say it happened near Albuoy’s Point. There are different stories,” he said.

Dr. Brown said the statue was an important part of Bermuda’s history and also of the African Diaspora Heritage Trail.

The flames around the figure are underplayed. Sculptor Carlos Dowling said he wanted the focus to be on the defiance of the human spirit while he also made her pregnant. He explained she was “pregnant with the spirit of freedom. Everyone can surround themselves with the idea of freedom.”