Independent MP Wayne Furbert kicked off a seven-hour debate on race with a call for Parliament to offer an unreserved apology for injustices in Bermuda's past that still leave their mark today.

Mr. Furbert began by saying it was "impractical" for the white community to collectively say sorry to blacks, as advised by Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda (CURB).

"Who? Should all whites? Who speaks for the white community? If one white person does not say it, does that mean that there is no apology?" the former United Bermuda Party leader asked the House of Assembly yesterday.

"Should the white members of Parliament only apologise? Should only those whites that were given opportunity and privilege apologise? Should the sins of the fathers fall on the shoulders of the sons and daughters of slave owners?"

But he said the onus was on Parliament to apologise in the way that leaders in Japan, Australia, the US, Germany and the UK have done in recent years for historic atrocities.

Mr. Furbert pointed to dark days of the Island's history, when whites were given opportunities and privileges not available to blacks.

He said over time laws had hindered blacks and today the effects of slavery and racism weaken the economic position of blacks.

Reflecting on a long list of injustices over the centuries, he said: "During most of those years, blacks have suffered and whites have prospered on the backs of blacks and were given preferential treatment to such an extent that their daughters and sons are still benefiting today.

"It was all done with the blessings of both church and state. It was done over the watchful eye of this place that we call Parliament.

"A place that many of us fought hard to get to."

He then echoed former Progressive Labour Party MP Renee Webb's call for the removal from the House of Assembly of portraits of white leaders who presided over a racially segregated Bermuda.

Mr. Furbert said laws and policies should be put in place to "right some of the wrongs", including opening up beaches to the whole public, particularly in Tucker's Town.

Following a brief pause after Mr. Furbert took his seat, Premier Dr. Ewart Brown became the first person to respond, telling the House: "I was really hoping that someone in the House would speak to this issue, in particular members of the House who are white.

"Although there's no obligation, it would have added to the conversation."

Next up was UBP MP Shawn Crockwell, who called for MPs to set a good example. He said: "We need to come to a common ground; be prepared to agree and disagree.

"In this House in recent years, we have found a tone that has not been conducive for that reconciliation."

Mr. Crockwell said blacks in the UBP had to deal with a false perception that they are not allowed to have a say.

Former Premier Alex Scott said: "On a surprisingly great number of times in the past ten days, I have found myself making speeches on a political position I didn't expect to make."

Mr. Scott went on: "I wonder just how much an apology will accomplish, when you consider the history of this place and when you understand that dynamic of the parliamentary process.

"We could have big conversations, we could have rich conversations, we could have humble apologies, we could have passionate apologies, and I think the beat would still go on."

The PLP backbencher said the onus was on MPs to ensure their governance reaches the highest mark and was not brought low by any of their actions.

"Bermuda works best when it works together," he said.

"If we could raise the performance, the governance, the behaviour, the conduct, the language, the laws that this place makes, then I think those who have suffered from the decisions of this place would respect us a little more."

He added, in what appeared to be a reference to debate over Dr. Brown's premiership: "I have resolved in recent days to act in the most honourable way I can, regardless of the impact it may have on those who like Alex Scott and those who may not."

Opposition leader Kim Swan asked how people in the future will judge politicians today, adding that the first stone should be cast by the person who has not sinned. He said MPs needed to embrace respect before anything else.

PLP backbencher Wayne Perinchief said as recently as 1998 Bermuda was locked in a political backwater, but since his party was elected that year there had been a rapid levelling of the playing field.

"It's an irony that we as a black government are now being called upon to apologise for the sins of our previous masters," said Mr. Perinchief.

"I shed a tear in irony that we are the ones who are clearing up the mess of a repressive era."

Mr. Perinchief said that with recent events Bermuda had entered another phase of its developments.

"We now see that when it comes to race in this country the face of the oppressor may very well change if we are not careful," he said.

"And if we don't look out, we could be repeating what Franz Fanon had previously warned about. People who have been oppressed can sometimes take on the face of the oppressor.

"Power is a very corruptible force. Those of us that replace the powers that be must be very careful to not actually become the oppressors and be similar to those powers that were."

Sports Minister Glenn Blakeney complained that at least 80, 85 or 90 percent of journalists in Bermuda are non-Bermudian and white. He asked how perceptive those journalists are and said they had a huge psychological impact on the underclass they consider to be a minority.

He said the UBP was culpable for race problems because some of the policies had been developed under its watch.

Veteran Opposition MP John Barritt urged people not to minimise the contribution made by black UBP members at caucus.

The white politician said he was born in 1950, grew up in a segregated Bermuda and couldn't understand why his school sports team called itself the best when it didn't play against black schools. He also couldn't understand why he wasn't allowed to sit at the front of the cinema during the days of segregation.

Mr. Barritt said he could understand the resentment of black children who weren't allowed to attend some schools.

"I'm very sorry that that's the way that it was," he said. "That people I could have grown up with and got to know better and had social interaction with, that I was deprived.

"And I'm sorry that while I had access and they didn't, it would have stunted what they were able to do compared to what I'm able to do. I'm very sorry for that."

But Mr. Barritt said he had difficulty taking on the mistakes of the people who preceded him.

Culture Minister Dale Butler backed the call to take down the portraits, saying: "Only recently have we had a black speaker. Good gracious! That in itself says something about this House.

"Maybe it's time for these pictures to take their rightful place in a museum."

Regarding the failure to appoint a black speaker before Stanley Lowe in 1998, Mr. Butler said: "There was a lot of fear and ignorance in the past. Thank goodness we have moved to the age of enlightenment. Change has been slow. We have the responsibility now to take up the ball.

"The damage has been done. So many people because of Parliament have grown up with an inferiority complex."

PLP backbencher Zane DeSilva said giving scholarships to young blacks was not enough. He said if he was a multi-zillionaire he would give up land and houses to descendants of slaves.

n Further reporting from this seven-hour motion debate, and more coverage of the House of Assembly's business, will appear in Monday's Royal Gazette.