It was senseless for Government to appoint a black man to fight racism in Bermuda, a new face in the Progressive Labour Party told their banquet last night.

Naming the Hon. Jerome Dill to attack racism as Human Affairs Minister "is exactly symptomatic of the problem we have had all along,'' Mr. Marc Telemaque told the 350 PLP supporters at Marriott's Castle Harbour.

`Any move towards combatting racism in Bermuda must be made by the white community,'' he said at the PLP's annual conference banquet.

Blacks had always made the first move towards integration, attending white schools and social events. But the white community had not done likewise.

Some whites said they felt uncomfortable when they attended black events, he said.

But the first black children to attend Mount St. Agnes school also felt uncomfortable. Now they fit in perfectly.

"All I'm saying to the white community is that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,'' the 23 year-old lawyer said in his maiden political speech.

The UBP had ignored and denied the problem of racism for 30 years, he said.

"Now they treat the issue as if it was the most startling discovery since sliced bread.'' Mr. Telemaque also had a message for the leadership of the PLP. Comparing leaders of a political party to parents, he said "the hallmark of a good parent is knowing when to let go.

"Sometimes parents get upset when their children no longer need them.

"But the children always reserve the right to come back and ask for advice.'' Mr. Telemaque said the youth of Bermuda needed leadership opportunity and honesty. "Young people in Bermuda are rudderless and directionless.'' He said parents were too reluctant to discipline their children but they took their example from a Government too reluctant to take firm control of the country.