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Ready to engage in real conversations about racism? Author Latasha Morrison can help.

The book Latasha Morrison never thought she would write hit the New York Times’ bestseller list last month.

Six years ago, Morrison envisioned a pathway toward racial reconciliation in the United States by bringing together small, diverse groups of people to talk about justice and healing. Today, that vision is solidified in her organization Be the Bridge and her book of the same name.

“It started, really, for myself,” she said. “I wanted to have these conversations and help the people I was connected with.”

Morrison started the first discussion group with friends in 2014 in Houston. Since then, Be the Bridge — officially launched in 2016 — has grown into a national network spanning 48 states and more than 200,000 social media followers.

Many of Be the Bridge's participants are new — sparked to action by the national uprising against racial injustice in recent weeks.

The death of George Floyd came weeks after another bone-chilling video. Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man, was shot and killed as two white men chased him through the neighborhood where he was running. There was no video footage of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman, being shot to death after police entered her apartment with a search warrant, but the story is no less terrifying. And those are just the most recent, well publicized cases of fatal violence against people of color.

“You saw the life drained out of someone right before us,“ Morrison said. “People were faced with the evil of what racism can do and …it was part of an awakening, a perfect storm with the pandemic, and nothing else competing for our attention.”

Stories like these, accompanied by grim statistics about police brutality and general racial bias, fueled Morrison’s choice to dedicate her life to racial justice and reconciliation.

Latasha Morrison launched Be the Bridge in 2016.
Latasha Morrison launched Be the Bridge in 2016.

According to a recent study from Mapping Police Violence, black men are 2.5 times more likely to be killed by police officers than others, and in 99% of cases, police officers are not charged with a crime.

Despite recent outrage from white Americans when Black people are killed or discriminated against, Morrison said there is a collective aversion to facing the issues head on. This, she said, is a barrier to authentic growth.

“A lot of times, white Americans approach this work like they know the ins and outs already,” she said. “And so, they don’t believe what they see — they see what they believe.”

The dominant white culture has, in the past, been accused by people of color of ignoring, excusing or misunderstanding concerns about systemic racism. Attitudes appear to be shifting, but can the current activism create substantive changes?

After Trayvon Martin was shot to death in 2012, Morrison was inspired to become involved in reconciliation. She believes Martin’s death, for which an armed, off-duty security guard was found not guilty by reason of self-defense, planted the seed for the current outcry.

Multiple instances of police killing Black men on camera followed Martin’s death, and righteous anger simmered until May 25, when Floyd’s death brought the Black Lives Matter movement to the forefront again.

Americans search for answers

Desperate to find understanding, Americans have turned to books, community groups, online courses and in-person training from organizations such as Be the Bridge.

Brownicity, founded by anti-racist activist Lucretia Berry, features a subscription-based educational model to help people understand racism and begin “practicing transformative change” in their lives.

Books are often a first step for the curious. Morrison’s book wasn’t the only topical title to sell out of stock on Amazon. Robin DiAngelo’s “White Fragility” and Ibram X. Kendi’s “How to be an Anti-Racist” also sold out.

The sudden spike in interest leaves room for skepticism.

“It’s a wonderful thing to say I’m a New York Times best seller, but it would be more wonderful to be able to say we live in a world that is a little more anti-racist.” Jason Reynolds, who wrote a young adult book focused on racism, told The New York Times. “I hope people understand that this book is the beginning of a journey of a lifetime.”

Education about racism is worthwhile and needed, but so too is substantive change. Morrison specifically seeks changes to hate crime laws, police reform and restorative justice.

“You have more lawlessness when there is hopelessness,” she said. “So how do you begin to restore hope in communities so that lawlessness would begin to dissipate?”

Activists have mixed feelings

Some groups have been asking these questions for years. The racial justice organization Race Forward was founded in 1981. Race Forward reports a higher volume of requests for training and consultations in recent months, and the current spike is hard for long time justice advocates to process.

“It’s difficult to put into words just how devastating it is,” said Key Jackson, senior director of movement capacity building. “That this sort of level of attentiveness and willingness to engage and transform systems has required the loss of black lives.”

Most of Race Forward’s upcoming virtual training sessions are sold out and their inboxes are full. Nearly 40 years after Race Forward was founded, the time may finally have come for the organization to see its goal of comprehensively advancing racial justice become a reality.

For Morrison, it's been only two years since she quit her job at a church to run Be the Bridge full time. If the past month is any indication, her roster of employees, clients and followers will continue to grow.

And she’s not wasting time or energy on folks who aren’t ready for action.

“We don’t try to convince people that racism is a problem,” Morrison said. “We just give people an entry point into the conversation to begin learning — we’re gonna go with those who want to go.”

Ericka Andersen is author of “Leaving Cloud 9: The True Story of a Life Resurrected From the Ashes of Poverty, Trauma and Mental Illness.” Follow her on Twitter: @ErickaAndersen

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Authentic conversations about racism are hard; here are ways to engage