Alvin Williams has a must read, big think piece in this weekend's Mid-Ocean News. The Mid-Ocean News would serve themselves and Bermuda well by publishing more thoughtful, provocative and fair pieces like this. Alvin Williams:

The wrong conclusions are being drawn concerning the historic election win of Barack Obama. His victory does not mean that we have seen the end of racism in America; the context in which we must view this event is the demographic reality that those who study population trends have forecast regarding the make-up of America in the future. It is predicted that in 50 years or so America will no longer be a white majority country and certainly during that time the centre of power will have shifted to America's existing non-white minorities. The future has in fact come early with the election of Barack Hussein Obama.

Is this an indication that there has been a real change in racial attitudes in America? In some respects yes. But President-elect Obama only won 45 per cent of the white vote overall. He lost the majority of the white women and men. He lost most of the traditional white South and where he did win it was as a result of a black and Hispanic voting blocs that gave him the margin of victory.

Still this is not to take away from the significance of his election victory. He won enough of the young white vote and he won among those Americans who are currently suffering as a result of America's economic melt down. He won among first time voters and, of course, he won massively among African-Americans and Hispanics. He won that vote without highlighting the huge concerns, both political and social, of those groups. And, of course, he rarely touched on the question of race and the impact of its legacy. Had he done so then, as was attempted during the primary battles with Hillary Clinton and to some extent during the Presidential election itself, the so-called race card would have been played big time and would have been decisive in an election victory that would have not been his.

But in times to come this "race card" shall not be a factor at all in American politics. For as I earlier mentioned America's non-white minority will become the new majority in the not too distant future.

And at that time their concerns and issues will come to the forefront and will be reflected in the new political leadership.

Enough about America. How does this relate to Bermuda?

This is the case here now with respect to Bermuda's black majority but I don't think that Bermuda's white minority realise it yet.

They still cling to the United Bermuda Party where it is perceived that their interests are best served even though you would be hard pressed to find concerted policies carried out by the Progressive Labour Party Government that were designed to exclude Bermuda's white population (although from time to time you might hear from certain PLP politicians statements that could be considered to have racial overtones).

I know the history of my country.. It was the struggle of the black community that overturned racial segregation. It was the black community that created a trade union movement. And it was the black community in its political struggle that led to the creation of a real democratic system in this country.

Premier Brown was right when he spoke about how white Bermudians would have voted in the recent American election based on their voting patterns here. We know that but still, in the 21st century, we want to continue to hide from unpleasant realities using our figleaf mentality.

It is not just politics where we remain racially divided. Eleven o'clock on Sunday mornings in our churches is Bermuda's most racially segregated hour of the week. I could send my grandchildren to private school if I had the money, but the reality has long been (even before there was a sustained discussion over perceived and real inadequacies in public schools) that the former remains predominately white and the latter predominately black.

That we share this small country but we have a dual interpretation of its history and, indeed, its present reality surely will lead us to a divided future.

While we wish to embrace the rise of a Bermudian Obama as a political leader, we fail to realise the President-elect calls for a united America in the context of a sovereign American nation that has existed as a political reality since 1776. Have we reached such a point?

I continue to put forward this question: What is it that I, a black Bermudian, have in common with my fellow white Bermudians?

Now you must hurry to answer this question, my fellow white Bermudians, for I have another question for you. And that is, what can white Bermuda do to encourage the rise of an Obama-like political leader? For the future will unfold with or without your blessings.

We at the PLP open our arms wide to white Bermudians, black Bermudians and Portuguese Bermudians who believe in social and economic justice. We believe in moving all of Bermuda - not just white Bermuda or black Bermuda or Portuguese Bermuda - forward.

In our social interactions, the next generation of Bermudians are already breaking down the racial barriers of the past. We know that many young white Bermudians feel that the conservative UBP doesn't represent their interests, but, for a variety of issues, they haven't yet come around to the PLP. To them, and to all of our Bermudian brothers and sisters, we say that the door is open and we look forward to working with you to build a better Bermuda.