Twenty-five years after Bermuda introduced universal adult suffrage and desegregated its schools and businesses, race remains a central element of Bermuda life.

Throughout the 1980s, Bermuda's leaders were able to boast that Bermuda had solved -- or gone a long way towards solving -- the problems of race relations.

A buoyant economy, a growing black middle class and the continued movement of black Bermudians into political and Government leadership positions and the appearance of harmonious relations between the races presented a picture of a community which had put the racial traumas of the 1960s and 1970s behind it.

But in the early 1990s, when the economic bubble burst, so did many illusions about race.

Black Bermudians suffered more than whites in the recession, and experienced a higher proportion of lost jobs, closed businesses and foreclosed mortgages.

With it came rising black consciousness while problems -- such as lower educational achievement and higher criminal convictions among young black males -- appeared intractable. Concerns about "institutional racism'' -- as opposed to outright bigotry -- grew.

More recently, events such as a trailblazing survey by The Royal Gazette's RG Magazine on racial perceptions in Bermuda two years ago, differences of opinion about the guilt or innocence of OJ Simpson and the different views of Independence among blacks and whites showed how attitudes among blacks and whites are sometimes gulfs apart.

Recently, Government brought legislation to Parliament which would make racial harassment illegal. In the meantime, groups such as the National Association for Reconciliation and Beyond Barriers have worked to improve racial understanding. These moves show that Bermudians are more willing today to tackle race with a determination which has not been seen in 20 years.

Against that background, The Royal Gazette will launch an in-depth series on Racism in Bermuda, beginning on Monday.

Subjects to be tackled will include race and the criminal justice system, the role of race in Bermuda politics and institutional racism in Bermuda's businesses and institutions.

The Royal Gazette's feature sections will also be included in the project with stories in the Living section about life in Bermuda for husbands and wives of different ethnic marriages and a series of articles in Community about different associations which are trying to bridge racial divides.

While the primary focus of the series will be on relations between blacks and whites, Royal Gazette reporters will also talks to members of Bermuda's other ethnic groups, such as people of Asian descent and the Portuguese community.

Other topics will include race and the church, education, social segregation and the role of the media.

The series will run every Monday and Friday, while occasional feature stories will also be published on other days of the week.