“Do the next right thing” is the motto Atlantan Latasha Morrison utilized to build a multifaceted career — and it landed her on the New York Times bestsellers list. Hailed as a diversity expert and unity champion, the author, podcaster and nonprofit founder is fueled by her passion to fight for racial reconciliation and to end racial disparities. She writes about this in her second book, publishing Tuesday, May 21, “Brown Faces, White Spaces: Confronting Systemic Racism to Bring Healing and Restoration.”
Morrison recalls the pivotal moment that set her intentions to fight for racial justice. After attending her grandmother’s church, where she learned details of Black history she’d never heard before, she became passionate about sharing the information at her school.
“I was a class officer in high school, and I wanted our school to recognize Black History Month,” said Morrison, 50, who grew up in North Carolina. “I took my idea to the school board, and I remember my friends shooting it down. I was angry and confused, but I didn’t have the words or language to express it. That’s why it’s important to me to equip this generation with words for racial healing.”
While attending East Carolina University, Morrison began what she calls her faith walk.
“But when I became a Christian, I saw that my life became more racially segregated.” said Morrison. “The church emulates the world in many ways, and it shouldn’t. When we look at the Bible, there were different tribes and nations throughout, but Christianity has become very homogenous, especially in the South. I became a Christian through a predominantly African American Christian fellowship that reached people who weren’t being reached through other Christian organizations.”
Credit: Penguin Random House
Credit: Penguin Random House
Personal stories like these are threaded throughout her first book, “Be the Bridge,” the New York Times bestseller, published in 2019, and continue in “Brown Faces, White Spaces.”
“I like to look at the gaps,” said Morrison. “The first book explained reconciliation. I wanted that to be the cornerstone of the Be the Bridge nonprofit organization [that she launched eight years ago], to lay out what reconciliation means, and empower people and culture toward racial healing, equity and reconciliation. With ‘Brown Faces, White Spaces,’ we tackle what’s next, and that’s systemic racism. Some say it doesn’t exist, but to deny it is overt ignorance.”
The new book breaks down nine aspects of American life where the author believes racism endures: education, health care, the justice system, the economy, the military, property ownership, entertainment, sports and the church.
“We didn’t cause systemic racism,” Morrison writes in the book. “It’s not our fault that unjust systems exist, but it is our collective responsibility not to uphold those unjust systems. And there is plenty of reason to hope. Change is possible if we exercise our shared responsibility to be a part of the solution.”
Morrison became a certified trainer in cultural intelligence and unconscious bias through the Cultural Intelligence Center online in 2018. That same year, she received funding from Facebook that allowed her to grow the infrastructure of the Be the Bridge nonprofit. She now employs nine people, hosts a biweekly podcast, also called Be the Bridge, and launched an online academy in November 2023 that equips people and organizations with content and resources from reputable thought leaders and institutions.
The nonprofit hosts more than 2,000 Be the Bridge groups in America, and the Be the Bridge curriculum is used in more than a dozen countries.
“We are the on ramp, the starting point,” said Morrison. “We attract people who want to be part of the solution, and we do feel like it’s a collective responsibility. We’re not where we used to be but we’re definitely not where we could be as a country.”
Though her plate is full, Morrison said she is just getting started. She signed a two-book deal kicking off with “Brown Faces, White Spaces,” and she is thinking about writing a children’s book next. She wants it to convey a message about how diversity and racial healing makes the world better not just for brown kids, but for all.
“There’s so much work to be done, and it is my greatest dream to leave this world better than the world I was born into,” said Morrison. “I want Be the Bridge to outlast me. I want the work to continue after I’ve taken my last breath.”
AUTHOR EVENT
Book launch for “Brown Faces, White Spaces: Confronting Systemic Racism to Bring Healing and Restoration”
6-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 21, Auburn Avenue Research Library, 101 Auburn Ave. NE, Atlanta. Free, registration required at eventbrite.com.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified Latasha Morrison in a photo caption and misstated the location of her upbringing. She grew up in North Carolina. The story has been updated.
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