Mayor Marty Walsh had his second annual talk about racism at Northeastern University on Saturday.
Racism is a word that is heard all too often, but the purpose of the conversation was to explore questions such as:
Do you know what racism is?
How do you define it?
And then learning to understand the impact of discrimination on an individual.
While most people say they understand what it means, everyone's definition is a little different.
"I define racism as an imbalance of power lines," a participant said.
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It's that notion that brings Mayor Walsh to talk about racism, and the mayor plans to revisit the matter one year from now to talk about the progress that has been made.
Mayor Walsh also pointed out that within that last three years, 60 percent of the principals that were hired in Boston are Black.
However, there is no ignoring that racism is still present in Boston.
Earlier this year, Baltimore Orioles Center Fielder, Adam Jones, was subjected to racist taunts at Fenway.
In September, there were fans who carried a banner stating that "racism is as American as baseball."
Those who are trying to be a part of the solution say that it all starts with one thing- a dialogue.
"I don’t think there are enough people talking about race and talking about the issues that come along with it," one participant said.
Mayor Walsh also mentioned how "people are tense for a reason, because in most cases they have experienced something traumatic... and some experience it everyday."
The mayor also said that he wants to talk to varying groups in smaller conversations in different cities in order to make real change.
