If you have not read Rolfe Commissiong's series in the Bermuda Sun, you should. He tells his story and speaks from the heart. He begins his latest installment:

Bermuda's white community should examine its age old habits of voting for one party and one party only; that party being the UBP.

If we are to move past the era of racial polarization in politics, this must change. After all, you can not have 21st Century politics with one group still mired in the 1950s with respect to its voting behaviour.

White Bermudians should follow the example of Bermuda's black community and strive to be more diverse in their political choices; their Anglo led tribalism must end for the sake of our still young democracy.

Our party, our meetings and our events are open to all Bermudians. We welcome our white members with open arms. We're not scary, we're not sycophants, we're people just like our white brothers and sisters. And, we share a common commitment to and love of this 21 square mile rock we call home. Rolfe:

Senator Mark Bean's story I believe is instructive on this score. During the recently concluded by-election, I warned him, that upon canvassing many of the white households in the constituency, that most would - in the fine tradition of white Bermudian hospitality, much like that in the southern U.S. - welcome him into their houses with all the attendant courtesies, but once inside, the following script would unfold: 'The Premier, Rolfe Commissiong and the PLP are racists and dividing our country along racial lines and so on...' But of course they would say it in a way that would appear to artfully exempt the poor, somewhat confounded PLP candidate in their midst.

Well, one day Senator Bean saw me before the aforementioned election and said 'Rolfe, just as you predicted the script unfolded as you said it would'. He added, 'however, in one household there was a distinct twist'.

In this particular household, after castigating and demonizing the PLP leadership and government, the head of household, a sixty something white male said, '...and Mark, what about that statue on the Cabinet grounds...she was a criminal!', in obvious reference to Sally Bassett who was burnt at the stake for allegedly attempting to facilitate the poisoning of her granddaughter's slave masters and a bondswoman.

The young Senator, upon hearing the above, simply maintained his composure, was diplomatic throughout the whole ordeal and got himself out of that household as fast as he could. And who could blame him. Frankly, he's a better man than me, in this regard.

PLP leaders like Marc Bean are reaching out and asking all Bermudians for their vote. But, in the end, the fears Rolfe talks about translates into voting behaviour. Rolfe:

I am inclined to believe that a lot of white Bermudians have bought into the notion that racism and its affects ended when the UBP was formed. When white Bermudians, in their wisdom, condescended to allow a few good blacks to join their brand new club. It was a dishonest narrative then and remains so today.

But for those who continue to push this destructive narrative which I have been exploring over the last two weeks, I maintain that they are doing the country a gross disservice.

Rolfe speaks truth. It's shocking that the UBP perpetuates the great lie about their party. Rolfe closes by talking about the Bermuda all of us seek:

I too would like to see a country where the quest for racial and social equity is not viewed as a threat to the minority; but an opportunity for all.

This is the Bermuda I seek. This is the Bermuda that both myself and the Premier are working hard to achieve. This is not the U.S. of President Obama; frankly, many of us can quickly forget that we are not Americans but Bermudians. Our approaches and strategies of necessity may be different - after all black Bermudians are a majority here - but let no one doubt our sincerity or our integrity and the fact that, with respect to Bermuda, our goals are the same.

We have a number of events coming up over the next month. And, we cordially invite all Bermudians who are committed to building a better country to attend. It's up to all of us, but, especially the younger generation, to break down the racial barriers.