told the Upper House yesterday that one of the reasons so many black males are in prison is their lack of a sense of self worth.

He said this lack of self worth or self esteem causes some black youth, many of whom become involved in gang activity, to feel disconnected from the world around them. This perception leads them to conclude that none of the good things or opportunities that are all around them have anything at all to do with them.

Sen. Richards was addressing the Senate on the devastating impact of institutional racism on society and requested the Senate support the need for economic empowerment legislation.

He said the alienation that young black men feel, comes from not knowing about their ancestors? contributions to the world.

If they felt their ancestors were an integral part of the world around them, they would be less inclined to destroy it, he said.

?One of the most difficult obstacles that needs to be overcome in the area of racial attitudes is the perception of cultural background,? Sen. Richards said. ?It is important because it forms a background as to the attitude a white person may have toward a black person and vice versa.?

He said such attitudes are critical factors in the quest to improve race relations and thus conquer institutional racism.

?If a white person perceives that blacks are inferior, then it will become very difficult for that white person to view better race relations as anything other than a necessary irritant in order to achieve peace in the community, so that, as it were, we can get back to the business of business,? he said.

He added that if a white person sees that Europeans have been solely responsible for the creation of Western Civilisation with all its scientific, economic, political, social and cultural attributes, and that Africans and the African Diaspora have contributed nothing, then it will be difficult for that white person to view the black person as an equal.

?It is critical for improved race relations that both blacks and whites be educated as to the extent that Africans and the Diaspora have contributed to the building of Western Civilisation in terms of science, astronomy, engineering, mathematics, theology and economics,? he said.

Sen. Richards said this was critical for whites because the history they have been taught was biased in their favour and critical for blacks because they have been immersed in a version of history that has been biased against them.

?If a black person feels that his ancestors have done nothing over the millennia to move mankind forward then he himself will wonder as to his innate equality to whites and his place in the world,? he said. ?How can there be mutual respect if one person is descended from empire builders and the other is descended from slaves? Under those circumstances, respect can never happen.?

Sen. Richards offered fellow Senators a brief insight into the part Africans played in history, adding that it was critical to highlight and understand these ubiquitous subtleties of Western society in order to understand institutional racism, how it occurred and why it persists.

?So it?s not about plantations in Bermuda or anywhere else. That?s much too superficial. Bermuda?s problems with race are the same as in most so-called Western societies and even if we didn?t have our very own history of racism, it would have been virtually impossible to avoid importing it from our neighbours,? he said.

He said a big part of the long-term fight against institutional racism is to re-educate people, both young and old, black and white, with a knowledge of non- racially biased history.

He added that if Bermuda was to ever throw off the legacy of its racist past, peopled needed to discuss the subject openly and constructively. suggested a joint select committee be established to investigate institutional racism in Bermuda.

While said to ?go forward? the subject of where institutional racism came from needed to be addressed.

Estimating the economic contributions of black consumers, Sen. Mussenden questioned who owns the businesses from which blacks buy their groceries, electricity and other goods and services.

?When many of these businesses were set up, was the playing field even?? he asked.

Sen. Mussenden said that he had been once told by a senior Government employee, who was a white expatriate, that if a country were to be designed in which the powerful consolidated their control that nation ?would be set up like Bermuda? with ?mostly white ownership with mostly black labourers and mostly black consumers?.

?We don?t need Government legislation to promote economic empowerment,? he said. ?We need good governance for empowerment in general, but especially for black economic empowerment.? attacked Premier Alex Scott?s involvement in the ?new secondary school debacle?, referring to financial controversy surrounding the construction of the new Berkeley Institute.

?As a black, small business owning, entrepreneur,? he said, he knew that he required a letter of credit before if he was going to carry out business for someone.

?But did the Minister of Works and Engineering require that that infant company needed a letter of credit before ground was broken on that school?? he asked. ?That debacle set black entrepreneurs back 40 years.?

Sen. Bascome said young black people trying to get ahead economically must not blame obstacles for underachieving.

?I am a black man who had numerous obstacles put in my way, but I wanted to be a productive citizen and no one was going to throw me off course,? he said. said that he was glad the Senate was having such a debate and wanted to point out how much change had occurred since the days when racism was more prominent. said that successful black businessmen must ?pull their other brothers along with them?.

He also said he?d like to see more white people join black clubs, as opposed to only black people joining traditionally white clubs. In his closing remarks, congratulated the Senate on ?an informative and encouraging debate on the touchy subject of race?.

He said that traditionally black Bermudians recognised debilitating racism as they sought jobs. However, today when a young black person is turned down for a job, he said he would like for them to start thinking in terms of their qualifications for the position and not blame their race.