I have the rather strange job of wrapping up the conference in eight minutes.
Therefore, I'm not really going to do that. I'm going to share with you some takeaways in terms of broad topics that I got out of this conference.
Before I do that, though, I want to say thank you to Alexa and to Sarah.
For their hard work. I want to thank and recognise my assistant, my administrative assistant, Mr. Paul Hartman, who has been everywhere today.
I also want to thank our I.T. department under the leadership of Carmina Hendrickson,
who made sure that we had everything in place and that it was functioning the way it should.
So we really appreciate all of their work. Are security guards our facilities department because, you know, the school doesn't clean up itself.
So we do thank them and please give them a round of applause. And so here is what I heard.
From the panoply of meals, patterns of resistance occur in the context of oppression and are met with resistance from the oppressors.
And that reminds me of actually of a quote from Simone de Beauvoir, who says all oppression creates a state of war.
So the resistance that we see includes numerous tactics, including dividing groups against each other.
That could be whether you're LGBTQ, pansexual, Omni's sexual, whether you're West Indian,
whether you're Bermudian, that was a comic relief, whether you're Portuguese.
It occurs through legislation, through propaganda, through imposing taxes, changing ages and voting rights.
Through pepper spraying and all kinds of various means.
Who controls our narrative? Well, we certainly have not been in control of the narrative.
And that's clear from the fact that many of our children don't have a clue because it's not taught in school.
Their parents don't know the history. We have to regain control of our narrative.
We have to be able to tell the story of our history, and it is with deep gratitude that I acknowledge our Bermudian,
in particular our Bermudian historians who are doing just that.
It was also striking to me that sometimes it feels like the oppression is directed within the group.
But it's not just because there are differences within the group,
it's because we are internalising the structure, the oppressive structure and and aiming that within.
And that is how we can get to a question that Taj asked about about discrimination within the group or prejudice within the group.
I was also struck by the fact that there is indeed a legacy of pain, suffering and fear that is the direct result of our experience of our history.
And I was really struck struck by the fact that Robert Thomas described the situation as a cloak that is cast over our story.
How damaging that is. Our resistance.
Is incomplete. When I spoke at the beginning, I talked about patterns of resistance and then plateaus, and the plateaus often occur.
You know, there's resistance and then there's a period where I said, there's really nothing.
Part of that occurs because we get complacent. Maybe there's a small gain that occurs.
And so we kind of go along with everything for a time until something happens that really forces our hand and we really act in resistance once again.
But we have to understand that those small changes are not sufficient and that once we get a small gain,
that's not the time to stop the resistance that we have to keep moving.
And I do believe, Dr. Tancred, that that is the point at which persistence does come into play because it means that,
yes, we got something here, but we know that the goals are still active and that they haven't been totally achieved.
So we must persist until they are all realised.
Another point that was striking to me, and this is very close to home is what happened to the leaders of resistance.
Sometimes they're misunderstood. Sometimes they are cast or miscast as criminals versus heroes.
But as you all know, a lot of times, the characterisation all often depends on who wins the war.
And that over time.
As the story's become clearer, people who have been misunderstood and miscast will be understood to be the heroes that they have been.
And that's not to say that we're lifting up murderers in that kind of thing.
What I'm saying is that our history has not been told in the way that it should be.
And so we're missing some truth. With that said.
I want to acknowledge the presence once again of our own heroes, of our of our people who have stood up and are still standing up for us.
It's good for us to have them here in our midst where we can celebrate them now and acknowledge all of the things that they have done so.
Mrs. Harvey, Mrs. Maxwell, Dr. Hudson.
It is really, really important that we, as they say, give the flowers while they can be appreciated.
And so we're very happy to be able to celebrate you. The other point about leadership and resistance is that when we have those plateaus,
very often we're looking for and waiting for that individual or those individuals
who believe me are few and far between who actually have that extra special,
whatever it is, who will step up and and and provide the kind of leadership to rally people who are just
waiting for someone to be able to say what they have had on their minds and in their hearts.
And it is true that that kind of leadership comes at a price.
There was a book of years ago called The Way Out Monthly and by a fellow named Bill Beardsley.
And it was about the leadership within the civil rights movement in the United States.
And what happened to all of those unsung heroes? Many of them ended up in jail.
They ended up with severe mental health issues. It's not a smooth path.
So taking that kind of leadership once the struggle seems to be over has severe consequences for those people who are willing to take on the struggle.
And so we have to appreciate them and celebrate them as well.
Finally. Where do we go from here? You know, this last session was supposed to be about, you know, examples of transformation.
And it's interesting to me that it was really a question and answer that just kind of breaks or just chips that the tip
of the iceberg in terms of raising the questions that could possibly lead us to talk about transformative processes.
And it is true. It is a process.
But we are required all of us to make sure that we have that foundation in our history that we go out and read the books.
Young people make sure you're reading the books, make sure you're searching out the knowledge, make sure you're talking to your elders.
They will listen to you. Engage them in conversation. Talk to each other.
Ask your. Your. Your, your your principals.
Ask the Department of Education. Have you parents call the Department of Education? Ask them to get the university on your campus.
Ask them to have school programmes with your university. I know I did it at the Berkeley Institute and was highly successful.
Students need to have an opportunity to learn about our history.
So with that said, I think that in addition to the things that I mentioned as a collective, we do need to have more opportunities like this.
We do need to have more conferences. As a college, we need to provide more opportunities for students to study Bermudian history.
And I'm really happy that we're actually working with Dr. Maxwell and Millersville
University to bring the Atlantic World Programme here from your college.
I will be very happy when we get that in place. Upcoming topics.
Things that I think we should continue talking about. We need to continue talking about power and transformation.
We need to talk about the path to independence. We need to talk about economics, resilience, agency and empowerment.
We need to talk about resistance and the arts. I do believe that the arts are very, very important and that's a big part of my life and the arts.
Without that, we we we lose a part of ourselves.
As as Dr. Francis mentioned, the arts were a way for us to communicate when we didn't have words,
and we have to recognise the importance of the arts in our lives and make sure that there is a place for that here in Bermuda.
We should have a centre for performing arts here that lifts up all of the people that we have who are
so talented on our island and also and also provides a centre for archiving our musical and theatre,
theatrical and all arts experiences. And I think that's about it.