History revisited Bermuda's shores yesterday to the joy of relatives and friends as one of Bermuda's most powerful voices, Kinglsey Tweed, stepped foot onto the homeland he left behind over 40 years ago.

In 1959, Mr. Tweed, now 71, played a pivotal role in the theatre boycott movement - which led to the final fall of segregation on the Island. While he was not a member of the Progressive Group, who organised the boycott, Mr. Tweed and fellow activists encouraged Bermuda's blacks to support the move. He fled the Island in 1961 after receiving several threats against his life.

Along with his mother, siblings and family members, Mr. Tweed left behind his eight-month-old daughter who he still had not met upon his return yesterday. He now resides in London and is an AME minister there.

As they eagerly awaited Mr. Tweed's arrival at the Bermuda International Airport yesterday, several people spoke to The Royal Gazette of their anticipation of his monumental return.

"I'm awed and warmed by this experience," said community activist Peggy Burns. "I only know of Mr. Tweed by seeing the documentary ('When Voices Rise'), but through it I've developed this feeling.

"Although I don't know Mr. Tweed personally, I feel what his family is feeling. I'm glad he's coming home after 40-odd years abroad. His message of yesteryear is still very important today."

Armed with her camera to capture the historic moment, Sharon Francis said: "I thought it was such a loss for Bermuda when he had to leave, but I'm glad he's coming back."

Excited about meeting the man whom they had never met but had heard so much about growing up, cousins Keith Tweed and Eldon Raynor, Jr. said they were happy to finally be able to greet the man who played such an important role in their lives.

"He left when I was a baby," Mr. Tweed said. "I've never met him but I've spoken to him several times on the phone. It's going to be nice to sit down and talk with him firsthand."

Mr. Raynor agreed. While he too had never set eyes on his legendary uncle, Mr. Raynor said he felt as if he knew him already because of the frequency which his mother spoke of him.

"My mother spoke of him every day," he said.

Mr. Raynor, who owns a construction company and trucking business credited his uncle's legacy for what he is today: "I have a drive in me and I know it comes from my family lineage. We are very progressive people. If it wasn't for my uncle, Bermuda would be in a worst state than it is today.

"If he didn't take the stand he did all those years ago, many black Bermudians would not be as prosperous as they are today."

As family members waited in the arrivals area for Mr. Tweed's appearance, feelings of anticipation and nervousness hung in the air. His sister, Barbara Raynor, anxiously wiped away tears as she waited to see her brother, but as soon as Mr. Tweed emerged to clapping and tears, there was not a dry eye in the area. Nieces, nephews and the granddaughter he had never met, 15-year-old Danya Wedemier, hugged and kissed him as they introduced themselves.

As tears flowed down his youthful face, Mr. Tweed kept repeating, "This is amazing, this is amazing."

When asked how it felt to see her grandfather for the first time in her life, Ms Wedemier, overcome with emotion, simply said, "Weird".

Mrs. Raynor told The Royal Gazette," I'm so elated that my brother's home. I'm over the moon. I always believed that God answers prayers and this answer is right on time."