Speaking to a crowd of nearly 300 people in Duke’s Penn Pavilion on Dec. 8, Gail Christopher was resolute.

She described racism as “organized lovelessness” which then gets translated into systems of oppression. “We can’t be afraid of each other because of our difference. And love and fear cannot exist at the same time.”

An expert in health policy and movement leader, Christopher addressed the topic of racial healing alongside her daughter Heather McGhee, a prominent author and racial justice advocate. The pair spent the day engaging with students, administrators, staff and faculty, culminating in a public Katz Women, Ethics, and Leadership Lecture on “Racial Healing, Hope, and the ‘Solidarity Dividend’” hosted by Charmaine Royal, Robert O. Keohone Professor of African & African American Studies and director of the Duke Center for Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation.