Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1194291
B M & T ••• September/October 2019 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 30 We can shake that hold by convincing a critical mass that the incapacity to value all human beings prevents opti- mal wellbeing and happiness. Our hearts and brains are designed to resonate with harmonious relationships. The opposite – fear and anxiety, separation, alienation and hate – induce stress and distress, causing a cascade of illnesses. The impact of racism is a burden on its victims, exasperat- ing health disparities that prematurely end lives. As a 15-years-old, I began to understand the power of racism and the need for healing. I attended a summer arts encampment in Chautauqua, New York. Away from home for six weeks, I was the second person of color in the town. My roommate was of a different race, but we became friends; the weeks passed quickly. On one of the camp's last days, as I walked past all the quaint Victorian houses on our little street, an ambulance appeared in front of our yellow house. Hurrying to see what was happening, I reached the front stairs in time to see my roommate carried out unconscious on a stretcher. I asked our house parents what happened and was told she had tried to commit suicide with pills. I ran up to our room, which suddenly seemed unbear- ably small. There, I found a note she had written: "I don't want to go home. My father has taught me to hate Black people. I now know that is a lie. I don't want to live like that anymore." The summer ended, and I never learned her fate, but I assumed they saved her life that day. I never forgot how it felt to have lived a brief moment within an innocent and authentic friendship which had pierced the veneer of racial hatred. Now, to save our nation, millions must do the same. Follow Dr. Christopher on Twitter: @DrGC-Christopher @NtianuGarden. Dr. Christopher, the former Senior Advisor and Vice President of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, is the architect and implementer of more than $1 billion in efforts span- ning four decades to facilitate racial healing and jettison racism from American society. To learn more about racial healing or schedule appearances or healing circles go to https://drgailcchristopher.com. For radio and print inter- views, contact Michael K. Frisby at (202) 625-4328 or mike@frisbyassociates.com. "You never change things by fighting the existing model. You must createa new model that makes the existing model obsolete. "