CURB: “Not Moved Into A Post-Racial Era”
Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda [CURB] congratulated the One Bermuda Alliance on winning the General Election, and said they look forward to meeting with the new Government regarding the points on the CURB Racial Justice Platform.
CURB President, Cordell Riley said: “We look forward to taking up the opportunity to meet with the new Government who, as Opposition, indicated a willingness to meet with us regarding the 15 points on our Racial Justice Platform.
“Given the tenor of debate by party supporters in the lead up to, and following, the General Election, it is clear that Bermuda has not moved into a post-racial era.
“Indeed, some of the reports reaching us are indicative of a by-gone era. We, therefore, will work with the new Government toward its commitment to ‘bringing us all together’ which is in line with our aim to bring about racial justice, leading to a society where ‘skin colour favours no one.”
CURB’s full Racial Justice platform is below [PDF here]:
I read your points, it seems that you are saying that this should be available for everyone whatever race they are.
Mr.Riley, if racism was uprooted there would be no need for your services; please rethink your stance in what racism actually is and possibly research some of the organisations in the USA as well as utilize the local available facilities for educating Bermudians about Black contributions to the world status, and the effects of it not being recognized to the point that we have become accustomed to appeasing the group deemed superior simply because we do not want to hurt feelings when their racism has hurt an entire nation,(even though they don’t recognize it yet)!
Hurt feelings? I believe you have it backwards. It was the old fogies in plp who pulled out the nasty race card and used it to “hurt an entire nation.” The plp marginalized whites. Blacks are the vast majority here, so please get on with it!
I don’t suppose we will see too many pro OBA comments here. The subject might be a little touchy for them.
Why don’t you read What the PLP leader said……….
“It’s no need for racists in this country. It’s no need for race baiting in the country. I think a man respects you when you respect yourself. It is better to compete and co-operate than to complain.”
“That will be our focus going forward. We are not going to be pointing finger at people, and we are not going to be playing the victim…as if someone else is their oppressors.”
“Obviously we are going to be conscious of the fact we still have racist attitudes in the country. But those attitudes are best ignored, and the focus should be on the higher and finer things that connect us as a people.”
“Race right now is somewhat in a box,” said Mr Bean. “In the end, we are all Bermudians…”
Phenomenal,
The OBA blogging machine went into full effect up to 17Dec and everything touched on black this black that, corruption of blacks, not owning a grocery store, running up debt since they can’t run a country and now nothing not a word, two posts and the most glaring evidence of where we now are, is the sudden change from shadow Minister of education, to the Chief Negotiator for all deals and Economic and business Development, but the OBA Candidates insisted that racism is irrelevant.
Well, we eagerly await this much promised Equality and no witch hunt for the PLP supporters
Two posts, I guess the youth also agree racism is a dead issue, I hope they all get IB positions before the floodgates open for the highly skilled graduates from London, the US and Canada.
Bernews, please, please post my comment
phenomenal, CURB and Race are now irrelevant, ironically, even Paula Cox thought it was irrelevant after reading enough RG headlines.
completely and outrageously phenomenal
When I worked at the polling stations last week, every single OBA volunteer would not even say good morning to me as they changed their shifts to count who had voted, their young volunteer wouldn’t even look you in the eye and exchange pleasantries, and they have the audacity as youth to be promoting the idea in the media that Bermuda is equal and that they have “minority friends”
Anyway this is all irrelevant, I wait for my loaf of bread and job out of the 2,000 that the liberal approachable Minister of Economic Development is now working hard to create with IB and overseas investors.
Marc Bean said….“It’s no need for racists in this country. It’s no need for race baiting in the country. I think a man respects you when you respect yourself. It is better to compete and co-operate than to complain.”
“That will be our focus going forward. We are not going to be pointing finger at people, and we are not going to be playing the victim…as if someone else is their oppressors.”
“Obviously we are going to be conscious of the fact we still have racist attitudes in the country. But those attitudes are best ignored, and the focus should be on the higher and finer things that connect us as a people.”
“Race right now is somewhat in a box,” said Mr Bean. “In the end, we are all Bermudians…”
Mr Riley says that “given the tenor of debate by party supporters in the lead up to, and following, the General Election, it is clear that Bermuda has not moved into a post-racial era”. As the PLP’s campaign was based 99% on racial slurs, and the OBA’s based on moving ALL of Bermuda forward together, I would say that we have progressed a long way this week. I sometimes feel that CURB has a hard time accepting that the majority of Bermudians, both black and white, genuinely want to move forward together, and that CURB’s own platform actually helps to encourage racism. Certainly there is a lot to understand about each other (and that doesn’t mean just black and white) but hopefully under our new Government and better education in our schools we can become the fully integrated Island we should be.
You guys are living in the past. Get with the 21st century! Its the”us and them” mentality all over again. How about you looking at it from a WE prospective?
when WE are all treated EQUALLY by EVERYONE, when WE are all getting paid EQUALLY for services rendered and when WE can all get along, then We can start talking about WE. Until then!
Mr. Riley,
A child is not born a racist and does not see things in black or white when they enter into this world.
A child is being educated in one way or another from the very day it enters into this world by it’s parents and family around it.
A child becomes what we as parents and family around it mold the child into.
If the child is surrounded by parents and family who talk of racial hatred then the child shall become the same.
A child that is surrounded by parents and family that do not bring race into the home, but instead they bring love and caring for one another and raise the child to see the beauty of all the colours of the rainbow, shall have raised a child that will flourish in the community and not see things in a black and white world.
I would also challenge the black community to start by not being racist with one another and to support one another instead of being jellous and throwing stones when one of your brothers or sisters has moved forward successfully in life.
I can tell you this much without a doubt, there will always be the rich and the poor, we come into this world with nothing and shall leave with nothing and no one will ever get ahead in life without hard work and for most of us nothing will be given to us on a gold or silver platter.
This is a fact of life.
I hate the way everyone equates the word slavery with black. Blacks only make up a small percentage, 15-20 if I remember correctly, of slaves and that was predomently in the US and Caribean. White Europeans ans Arabics make up the larest percentage. Asia where the slave trade is still alive and well is set to pass ,whites some time this yer…
You are right. But in today’s PC world slave=black.
Waiting for the day when we all say. OTHER on those idiotic government surveys….. Don’t we all bleed red?
Year meaning the next 12 months…
No you are not right. You are attempting to confuse indentured servitude with slavery. Indentured servants were paid for their term of labour and freely entered into such labour to make a better life for themselves. Indentured servants were NOT; violently abducted from their homeland against their will, raped and separated from their families and given a different name to their own. Whipped and tortured with body limbs removed for attempted escapes, banned from reading, writing or learning anything beyond their role as slave. Masters had the right to have sex with the wife of another slave and exercised that right fully. Slaves were NEVER paid. They lost all of their cultural and ethnic identity not even knowing who their relatives were or what their original culture or names were. The list goes on, you’re a filthy racist for trying to minimise slavery. I don’t understand how people wouldn’t do this concerning the holocaust when it’s widely known that the Jews were a minority compared to the millions of non Jews that were murdered but somehow it’s acceptable to speak such filth against blacks when our holocaust was and is of an incomparable magnitude. You’re a first class textbook racist and I don’t care what race you are.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG7U1QsUd1g&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Interesting to look at some of these comments, they prove Mr. Riley’s point … SMH. Folk still don’t get it.
“I wait for my loaf of bread and job ”
That’s the problem, you’re supposed to work for it, not expect a handout.