Band-aid won’t help cancer of racism
continued from page 3

United States and in Springfield. We learned about the history of our country and how racism plays a major role in who we are as a people. Through the study of our history we were able to come to a consensus definition of racism…so important when you’re dealing with this subject…that helped us to see racism with new eyes. We were able to see how systems and institutions created years ago have shaped and misshaped the superior/oppressed relationship between whites and people of color.

We also talked about anti-racism and what it means to be anti-racist.

What I believe we did that was so important was we had conversation. It wasn’t always easy conversation; not everyone agreed on everything. Racism is difficult to talk about, but we made ourselves talk about it. We committed to each other that our time together would be safe, even though our conversation would be blunt.

At the end of our time together most of us agreed that we wanted to continue our conversation.

So we’ll get together in two or three weeks for a reunion and we’ll talk some more and determine how we can affect change in our own little corner of America.

*Question: If you know you have a potentially fatal sickness, how do you treat it?

Douglas King is a member of the Springfield Dominicans Anti-Racism Team and a 25-year resident of Springfield. Contact him at [email protected].