MPs debated into the night on Friday the report by Professor Ronald Mincy entitled ‘Study of employment, earnings and educational gaps between young black Bermudian males and their same age peers.’

The first part of the report on the extensive debate in the House of Assembly was published in Saturday’s Royal Gazette. Here is a continuation of the coverage of the debate.

Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons said that, although the Mincy Report had “gone further” than some other reports, particularly by using Census data, it was still “a rather narrow look”.

He said using 18 young men from one secondary school had “limitations”.

Dr. Gibbons then called on Government to implement “a proper technical education curriculum” into the public school system.

”The fact we do not have an integrated technical education programme in all the schools is criminal,” he said.”All Bermudians should be exposed to some kind of technical education.

”And he said this needed to be done early as senior school was too late to learn practical skills such as carpentry, cooking and computing.

”It’s too late at the senior level. We need to get an early start, at age 12/13.”

The Opposition MP also said more counsellors were needed in schools to help young Bermudian men, however numbers had fallen in recent years, from 28 to 25.

”The amount of money going to counselling is down and the number of counsellors is down as well. Government is not putting its money where its mouth is.”

He continued: “It’s not enough to talk the talk and have rhetoric. What we want to see is implementation and that’s where we should have been spending our time today.”

Education Minister El James responded: “The Honourable Member mentioned technical education. This is part of our five-year plan. The Cambridge Curriculum has a technical proportion and money of our schools are doing just that.”

He said he was “stunned” by the Mincy Report findings, that 50 percent of black Bermudian male students had ‘dropped out’ of school before graduation.

However, he said the figures were not necessarily a realistic reflection of the general state of Bermuda’s schools as last year, of 1,395 students who failed to graduate, only 20 ‘dropped out’.

The rest had gone to alternative schools, home schools or overseas.

”It was 14 males and six females who we did not know where they went, so the 20 students out of the 1,394, that’s 1.43 percent.

”It happened probably because they reached the age of 16,” said Mr. James.

”So 1.4 percent of our people actually dropped out of school.”

He added: “Now the school leaving age has gone from 16 to 18, maybe we can reverse the statistics of the past.

”We want to start a mandatory assessment of all our people, starting from the age of two, so we can track them through school. We will then be able to see whether someone is more suited to the academic route or another route.

”We want to track them along the way so when they reach 18 we can help them to find employment.”

The Minister said: ‘We are not just walking the walk and talking the talk. I believe that our young people are going to be given every opportunity to be the best they can be.”

Shawn Crockwell, Bermuda Democratic Alliance MP for Pembroke West, said the legacy of racism was in part to blame for the gap between white and black Bermudian male earnings.

”I don’t think anyone in this honourable House can deny there’s a gap. There’s historical explanations as to why there’s a gap and there will be one for some time to come.

”I agree with the honourable Premier that this is the most important thing we have to deal with because if we don’t get this right the future of this country is in jeopardy.

”Education is underneath the issue. If we can fix education the rise in crime would be reduced. Education is the foundation of the issue.”

But he added: “I’m looking forward to seeing less debate and more solutions going forward.”

Mr. Crockwell said the issue was also down to “personal responsibility”. “My clarion call is for the parents and students. Every young person in this country needs to know if they work hard they can achieve what they want to achieve.”

He said: “We need to get serious about turning this around. We can’t expect Government to do it along and the schools to do it alone. If we make that commitment we can turn this around.”

E.T. (Bob) Richards, Shadow Minister of Finance, said: “Government’s role in our society is to look forward, not backwards and make plans.

”Subjective history lessons are really not that helpful.”

He said: “The Mincy Report recommends a community approach. How we get our children educated is primarily the responsibility of the parents.”

PLP MP Terry Lister said, despite what was indicated in the Mincy Report, most young Bermudians are on the right path. He stated his belief the report did not use a big enough sample group of young men and that it contained several inaccuracies.

“The vast majority of young people – black, white, male, female etc – are doing well and we should be proud of them,” said Mr. Lister. “I was stunned to read the report’s conclusion that young black males make only $25,000 a year. I don’t know anyone in Bermuda who makes $25,000 in Bermuda and the report said that is the average. I don’t know where that came from but I am not going to accept that – It definitely does not seem right.”

Shadow Health Minister Louise Jackson said school counsellors could be a powerful tool in fighting anti-social behaviour.

”I am standing here as a black mother, grandmother and teacher of 50 years,” she said. “We really must move forward to correct this gap between young black males and their same age peers. I recommend more guidance counselling in schools. I am going to push for more counsellors to be used in all levels of the school system – it is too late when the student is in their last year of high school. A school counsellor may be the only person that a student could go to with their personal problems.”

Minister of Finance Paula Cox said it is the responsibility of all Bermudians to “step to the wicket” in helping young black males. “The teachers and counsellors cannot do it all on their own,”said Ms Cox. “Government, the education system and industry must all play roles but the most critical element in developing a sense of hope in young people is the support, reinforcement and encouragement within a family unit.”

She added: “The Mincy report implies no problem with our black females but males are different than females. A little boy may not learn like a little girl but that does not mean they are less capable.

“We must have the temperament and sensitivity to meld and recognise the talents of individuals so that we may lift them up. We want to turn up the volume in the area of counselling. you will see ministers having a much more focused effort in channelling the resources to the right places.”

Charles Swan Shadow Minister of Youth, Sport and Housing said it is the responsibility of parents and the older generations to aid in a child’s learning and development and spoke on the importance of giving young people the option to pursue and education in a trade.

”When we are born we all have the same god-given traits,” he said. “We are all born with two legs, two arms, a brain, etc. We learn to walk and eat and the responsibility of that learning falls on the parents. Young minds are very pliable and young males look to their fathers for emulation, guidance and the like.”

He added: “We need to look at the importance of making a technical education available as a choice for young people – black or white, male or female. It is also important to identify what it is that our young people like to do from an early age and let them learn it but also see it hands-on. It is the lack of choices in education which I believe has brought us here today.”

Government backbencher Dale Butler said as a former Minister for Culture and Social Rehabilition, he had commissioned similar studies in the past, such as the Roy Wright and Rodney Smith reports.

These however, had not been given the attention and prominence they deserved, he said.

Mr. Butler said he himself had written a book in 2003 entitled ‘Successfully Raising Bermudian Boys’.

”That too was ignored,” he said. “Every school should have been given a copy of this book. It had a simple formula C for caring, K for kindness.”

He said rather than criticism, what young men needed was time and care.

”They need more attention and more praise than the criticism they get,” said Mr. Butler.

”Successful boys have parents who do these kind of things. They read the book. But this was not a reference point for him (Prof. Mincy).”

The PLP MP said less television and more basic education was needed in the home, such as parents teaching children their “two-times table”.

He added blaming racism for the crisis facing young men today was not helpful.

”It’s no conspiracy as some people are trying to push, and if they are, they are misleading us. If you continue along this mindset of it being a conspiracy we’re going to be losing more and more people.”

Mr. Butler said: “What’s race got to go with it? It’s not a conspiracy to destroy black boys.”

Michael Scott, Minister for Energy, Telecommunications and E-Commerce, said he felt the employers of Bermuda rather than education were to blame for the gap in wages and opportunity.

”It’s not about education. It’s really about employers’ behaviour,” he said.

”They will happily pay a lower rate to the foreign worker here. This is an employment practice which Mincy recognises and which is contributing to the malaise in this country.”

He said many black Bermudian women in human resource departments were also providing a stumbling block to young black males, as they could stereotype and then favour white private school boys in recruitment.

”The drive to violence and to despair is connected to their losing out in the job hunt and not succeeding. They are bumping into these Bermudian women and are being told, ‘Your soft skills, your social skills, are not appropriate.

”There’s this black person turning up and the employer yet again will prefer the white Saltus graduate over the black graduate from Whitney or Berkeley. This is the malady of our time.

”This is where employer behaviour needs to improve.”

Mr. Scott said: “We have to reposition our males in the economy. That is the light that the report has shone for myself. I hope we can find the ability to act with an initiative that’s not only bold but resourceful.”

Shadow Minister for Works and Engineering Patricia Gordon-Pamplin said: “We have major contracts that have been offered not to black contractors but to others, and as a result some of our young black males are looking at the disappointment on the faces of their fathers, who have not been given these contracts.

”What you are left with is, ‘What is the point? What’s left there for me?

”It’s called despair and what we have to offer in our country is a better degree of hope for our young black men.”

Government backbencher Randolph Horton said: “The report really doesn’t tell us much of what we already now.

”But it does give us some qualitative data which supports the position which many have taken on young black males in our community.”

Mr. Horton said: “It’s a growing crisis, not only in Bermuda but across the United States of America and Europe. Boys need attention.”

The former Education Minister said more male teachers were needed in schools, and that young men should be given a “road map” in how to act, behave and become successful.

”We can’t make excuses for young people,” he said. “How do you expect to get a job with your pants sagging around your behind?”

Mr. Horton said: “Let’s work with them, let’s get hold of them and help to lift them up, but don’t say it’s because of some racism that a young person isn’t being heard, because of racism in certain places.

”I’m not saying institutional racism has gone completely, of course it hasn’t but we have made significant strides in this country and our young people need to know this, and much of this is because of the Progressive Labour Party.”

He said there was interest in setting up a performing arts school in Bermuda.

”I’m behind the group that is looking at setting up a performing arts school because we need something like that in our country.”We have a lot of people who can sing and dance and who can rap. Let’s get them involved in something positive.”

Bermuda Democratic Alliance MP Mark Pettingill described Mr. Horton’s speech as “insightful”.

”We can’t stay in Jurassic Park, we’ve got to move into new and exciting things,” he said.

”We’ve got to look outside every box to see what we can do to address this problem.

”There’s a multimillion drug industry which entices young men so how do we begin to compete with that. Motivation is part of that.

”And I agree we need to have more male role models in our schools and classrooms and businesses, who will take time to be friends, mentors and role models to encourage them on a hard path of education.”

PLP MP Wayne Perinchief said that there are major socioeconomic gaps in Bermuda. He mooted the idea of minimum wage legislation and spoke of the importance of a technical education.

”There is a large gap between the wealthy people and the rest of this island – not just the rich white people, but blacks as well,” he said. “Over our long development in this country we realise black males have come across stress and pressure – black people are packed together in substandard living conditions.”

He added: “All academic education is not a true opportunity for everyone – everyone is not the same. And this Government may be guilty of elitism as we have always decided to value a formal education over a vocational one.”

UBP MP John Barritt questioned the validity of the Mincy Report and said that the report only told him what he already knew. He said there have been many reports on similar subjects completed throughout the years but Bermuda has yet do act on them.

”We keep talking about the problem but we are not doing anything – this is like deja-vu all over again,” he said.

Mr. Barritt added there are people that people from less than perfect backgrounds are still able to succeed in life. He cited several high-profile Bermudians such as Premier Ewart Brown and Philip Butterfield CEO of HSBC.

”Perhaps the time has come to look at the other side,” said Mr. Barritt. “In the same environment, same society – we see different outcomes. There are people who have been successful even though they came from the same environment – we need to look at their formula.”

Shadow Minister for the Environment Cole Simons said Bermuda’s focus on international business as the Island’s main industry is alienating some Bermudians.

”Education is just one building block, we have to rebuild our industry because it is only attractive to a handful of Bermudians,” said Mr Simons. “Right now we are so wrapped up in international business and tourism that people are saying ‘what about me?’ We need to build a more diverse economy so that Bermudians don’t have to go abroad to build a career.”

And Mr. Simons blamed his generation’s strong work ethic for contributing to social deviance and high dropout rates among young black Bermudian males.

”Our generation has dropped the ball in our pursuit of a better life,” he said. Everyone is running around chasing the almighty dollar and as a result family values are falling to the wayside.”

Minister of Works and Engineering Derrick Burgess said racism still plays a part in hindering the progress of black people. He blamed the media for promoting racism.

”The newspapers talk about us like we don’t have any feelings – they treat us like a piece of furniture,” he said. “The only good talk show host on this Island is Sheri Simmons. The daily paper promotes racism and fighting in Bermuda. Whites don’t fight publicly and I applaud that.”

He added: “Recovery is going to be slow but we need to cover up these cracks so that our young people don’t fall through them.”

Independent MP Darius Tucker said Bermuda needs to start gearing young people back towards the hotel industry and the trade industry.

”There is money in these industries,” said Mr. Tucker. “But we need to encourage our young people to not just settle at being a maître d’ at a hotel when they could be the convention manager. We must instill the idea that ‘hard work won’t kill you’ in our young black males.”

Government backbencher Ashfield DeVent said: “Probably my constituency contains a disproportionate amount of those who have fallen through the cracks.

”Bermudians are rightly concerned about the overrepresentation of black Bermudian males among those incarcerated in Bermuda due to drug trafficking and violent crime.”

The Pembroke South East MP said the way forward was “self-empowerment”.

He added:

“We’ve got to clean our clubs up because they’re turning into drug dens.”We have a lot of work to do and it will need a lot of work from each and everyone of us.”

Culture and Social Rehabilitation Minister Neletha Butterfield said: “The beginning is within the parental household, that’s where it should start.”

Michael Weeks, MP for Pembroke East Central, said young men stop him as he walks through his constituency, asking for help.

”They are distraught and don’t know what to do,” he said.

”They are the ones that need our immediate attention.”He said the Mincy Report had similarities to the Pitt Report of 1978.

”Lord Pitt specifically stated lack of opportunity. It’s time for us to take a stand and recognise that enough is enough. It’s time for the blame game to cease. If we don’t roll up our sleeves and fix our country now, our status as a global (financial) leader will be in jeopardy.”

He said: “It’s time to instill in our young black males a sense of pride. In addition we need to bring back the trade schools. I know this is something Minister James is looking to address.”

Opposition Leader Kim Swan said: “We still have ways to go to addressing the racial problems that exist. Indeed the legacy that we have that goes back to slavery is problematic and has been, but we can achieve great heights when we concentrate on the here and now, inducing in them the very values that have made many of us the people we are today.”

Former Premier and Government backbencher Dame Jennifer Smith said many young Bermudian men had “hidden talents” that needed to be encouraged.

”Some people might be our gold nuggets but right now are covered in dirt,” she said.