www.Legacy64.org

Our city and nation need healing: We must learn from the past.

By Dr. Melody Cofield

We face the aftermath of a very troubling week for our nation. There are many black citizens who are dealing with feelings of depression and despair because they are faced with the realization that their lives can be extinguished at the hands of law enforcement with no repercussion. There are police officers that are dealing with natural feelings of fear and anger because of the Dallas sniper attack.

The country is caught in a chasm. Our divide is showing, and unless we do something about it, we will continue to grow farther and farther apart.

We're in dire need of a healing. This is the reason why today, we still face the same issues from the sixties. Our nation has needed healing for a very long time.

Today, billions on the planet are connected through Facebook, Twitter, Periscope and more; and most of us don't acknowledge the effects that this newfound connecting access has on our psychological state.

Where we were once 7 degrees away from other human beings, social media has brought us much closer. We're now only 1 or 2 degrees away from one another, and the tragedies that each of us might face.

So what does this mean? It means that now, the impact of horrific events is instantaneous to us all, because what happens to one person is now experienced by thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people. Social media has given us all a voice to express our pain, and live streaming platforms to broadcast our anguish.

Many watched Alton Sterling take his last breath. We experienced the Dallas sniper attack in real-time as it happened. When 50 people were gunned down in Orlando, the whole country was instantly affected by this pain.

While it's important that we all stay informed, it's also equally important for us to step back and realize the effect that these images of pain and suffering take on us.

It's natural for us to want to lash out. We take to the streets to protest against injustices.

Equally, police officers take to the street, mourning the loss of their brothers. Both sides are in pain, and rightfully so.

Most of us have no alternatives. We have yet to find the solution. When we talk to others, we are met with the same hopelessness and anger and confusion that we were already feeling.

We are at a racial tipping point. This is why we must uplift the consciousness of humanity and come together for a healing. We need this now more than ever. This healing must take place across races, and across cultures. We have to heal our pain from the loss that we are all experiencing.

Healing simply means that we need to come together with a collaborative spirit, recognize the humanity and pain of others, empathize, and work together to solve this crisis that we all face.

We've done it before. Back in 1964, Rochester, New York experienced one of the worst riots in history. But in the end, Rochester was able to rebuild and come back better, stronger and wiser; because community, civic, and business leaders all collaborated to heal our pain.

We've forgotten that history; and we've forgotten the people who made that history possible. This is why it's imperative that we gather and learn from those who are still here, and study those who are gone, and gain an understanding of what enabled them to heal the deep divides of Rochester. If we can find that answer, then we can apply it to our city today, and the rest of the country, and then the entire world.

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Dubbed the philanthropic entrepreneur, Dr. Melody Cofield is the founder of Legacy Of '64, an organization that is committed to promoting the positive social outcomes that resulted from the legacy of post-riot collaborations, starting with Rochester. Legacy Of '64 holds its first event to promote the legacy of people making a difference on July 30. www.legacy64.com Contact: 585-210-3216.