TYLER, Texas — With protests continuing across the nation, community activists are working to create dialogue for change.
Instead of taking to the streets to let their voices be heard, some in Tyler did just that from the comfort of their homes.
Just As I Am is a local organization that began hosting a safe place for people to have open and honest conversations on race, white privilege and the Black Lives Matter movement.
"People don't really grasp the reality that regardless of how hard your life as a white person, you're not without privilege," Rob Jerger, president of Just As I Am, said. "It's your privilege just based off the color of your skin."
"Race and racism. That is probably one of the one things that is keeping our country from really being as great as it can be," Pamela Phoenix said.
"I'm a criminal defense attorney, and I see race being a factor everyday," Donna Broom said."
It is a conversation you try to bring up with not only the prosecutors but the other attorneys and it seems like everyone wants to walk around the conversation instead of facing it head on."
Topics on the agenda for the forum included describing a time participants experienced racism and a time when they realized they were privileged or lack thereof.
"One of my teachers said I should be happy that the slave trade happened because I'm not stuck in Africa," Chelsey Laury said.
"I've actually had a cross burned in my yard," Jeff Williams added.
"I would get asked by the other white kids, 'Hey are you here on an athletic scholarship?' and I was actually there on an academic scholarship," Rhonda Fanning said. "They just assumed because I was black, I was on the track team."
"In the jail in the courtroom where there will be assault family violence charges brought if it's a white male and a white woman." Broom said. "But, if it's a black male and a white woman, and they get in an argument and it can just be a verbal argument, you're going to see the black male charged with assault with a deadly weapon, choking which is a second degree felony."
"I used to think that I didn't have privilege because I had it rough coming up," Jerger added. "But, I realized if one of my black bother or sisters had those same opportunities coming up, I don't know that they could have been successful."
"One of my teachers told me because I'm black, I have to work three times as hard." Laury said.
All attendees agreed unity and change can start with a conversation.
"Nothing can be changed unless we implement change. So, we can never have too much dialogue to get to a point where we can uproot this thing called racism," Phoenix said.
Jerger says this is just the start of more conversations to come.
The next discussion will be June 15. You can find a link on how to join the virtual meeting on the organization's Facebook page.