Follow-Up CURB Forums For Black Bermudians
Due to the success of the initial meeting for the black community to discuss internalised racism, CURB will be sponsoring two follow-up meetings to take the discussions further.
Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda spokesman said the upcoming meetings will be co-facilitated by Dr. Eva Hodgson and Mr. Cordell Riley and will take place on Wednesday, June 1 and Wednesday, June 15 at the Leopards Club beginning at 7:30 pm.
CURB has organised the events specifically for black people.
Historian and community activist Dr. Hodgson has explained if whites were present at the forums, black people may start focussing on their historic contributions to institutionalised racism.
Rather, the intent is to highlight racism’s pervasive influence on black people’s own thinking and self-image. She said, “If we are going to think about what has been done to us, its better not have white people there to distract the discussion.”
I’m glad to hear that they are having a follow up, especially since i missed the first one.
Is this not a racist comment? , “its better not have white people there to distract the discussion.” I’m sure any comment as follows would definitely be considered racist. its better not have black people there to distract the discussion…
Best not to have anyone there cos it is total BS.
Agreed…how in the hell does CURB expect to get anything accomplished while engaging in such segregation tactics? The whole thing reeks of such irony that it’d be hilarious if it wasn’t so sad and detrimental to our society, and the very racial unity that it’s striving for.
Pathetic.
P.S. – Yes, I’m white.
is it just me or is this not the reason why we’re in the political situation we’re in now? because we care too much about colour. i was once told “it doesn’t matter the fact that the boot is kicking you, its the colour of that boot that matters”. wake up bermuda! the only racism against blacks is the racism we create against ourselves, we are ignorant to the fact that we are repressing each other because of our selfishness and our expectations to be handed everything for doing nothing.
Add to the fact that one of the facilitators was quoted in the RG today as saying (alluding to) that his life would be a whole lot different (better ?) if he had been born white ..
I’d like him to walk in my shoes for a year or so and then he’d see how special it is to be working class white in Bermuda !
The thing Miss Hodgson and many other blacks have not clued in on is that the longer they keep saying how different blacks are, the longer they will never be truly like everyone else. Very sad – but it really stamps them as different when they segregated themselves. We all need to be as one.
Make no mistake, I’d not go to an all white meeting either. But then that would branded as racist anyway. Personally, I don’t think an all black meeting should be allowed. But nobody has the nerve to stop it cos they’d be branded racist. And so the PLP continues. It is still working for them.
In my view, the meetings being facilitated by Dr’s Hodgson and Riley are aimed at bringing about healing, the healing of trans-generational wounds suffered by people of African descent as a direct result of slavery and the subsequent discrimination of African descent people by individuals and groups who do not consider themselves to be of African descent. It would be similar to people and their families who have suffered war related trauma or even people and their families who suffer alcoholism. People who suffer alcoholism meet with other people who suffer from alcoholism to share and support their respective healing paths. People who are not suffering from alcoholism would not be able to relate from their own experiences and indeed many of these types of meetings (be they addiction, violence or trauma related) are closed to persons who have not directly experienced the psychological damage. I have no idea what it is like to be a person of African descent except to say that I have some sense of the incredible damage that was done to this particular group of human beings and how this type of damage passes from generation to generation unless healing is encouraged and nurtured. It takes great courage to heal; courage and fortitude – I support this from the depths of my soul.
Chris, and its exactly this kind of pathetic liberalism that continues to promote this trash. it was wrong, it was a very long time ago, move on. We don’t continue to attack Germans for the World Wars, the British for the Potato Famine, the US for the Native Americans….What’s worse is that this isn’t just about redressing the past, its downright racist in itself, and more than a little desperate. Dr Hodgson will be truly disappointed when we all get along with each other, does she and these people really want progress, or do they want to dwell in the past? ONE LOVE.
I hear you and I see you Paula Cox’s Orange Pippin. I don’t feel attacked, however, I can relate to the feeling of being attacked. I appreciate that you are feeling attacked and am hopeful that you may find your way through these feelings. “There can be no healing until we accept the truth behind the bombs” – Thich Nhat Hanh – namaste
I think avoiding throwing new ones is just or even more important don’t you.
LOL
LOL – Yes, I do
Thank you for your wise perspective Chris Backeberg. To the people who are having difficulty with the idea of healing the residual effects of racism I ask this – what is your vision for us as humans? Would you like for us all to live in peace, joy, harmony and with equal opportunity together? Whether we are conscious of it or not we ultimately want the same things but the difficulty is that we choose different ways of getting there.
We all have been damaged by racism whether we are aware of it or not. CURB’s intention by having this discussion is to help facilitate healing. When we have internal issues do we take them to those who are least likely to know what we are talking about? Of course not, we choose people who are more likely to understand our situation just as Chris pointed out.
If white people would like to heal from the effects of racism they too can meet together with other white people whose intention it is to identify and heal where they have been damaged by the system of racism.
There are many Black people who would not show up to a discussion for Blacks only and there would be a limited number of White people showing up for a Whites only discussion. That’s just fine. We have to begin somewhere. At some point we will come together (Blacks, Whites and others) in honestly and truth but we don’t appear to be ready yet because we have some separate work to do.
The intention of “Discussion for Blacks” is to take ownership for our part. That takes courage as Chris said. It really does.
This is contributed on behalf of Dr.Eva Hodgson who arranged an all White
meeting long before CURB arranged an all black meeting. She also arranged a white
only meeting to hear Tim Wise on his first visit to Bermuda! Two or three
hundred Whites turned up to that Session. She would ask her
critics what are they doing to narrow the economic gap between the two
Communities. In her view it would not matter how “integrated” Blacks and Whites may
pretend to be until there is economic parity between the two Communities and
pretend “integration”, even the with the OBA, would not amount to
a “hill of beans” at the moment because the economic disparity between the
two is far too great.”
With due respect Frances , I’ll never own real estate and I’ve always worked for someone else. I haven’t had a vaction for 20 years. I don’t own a car.
You’re right , there is an economic disparity between me and Dr Hodgson.