The poisons of institutional racism affect economies, disrupt families and destabilize nations. Understanding the destruction racism causes is an essential step in resisting its power.

To shed some light on this universal struggle for human rights, the software company Infor provided an unusual forum at its Inforum 2016 conference in New York City. Dave Vellante (@dvellante), cohost of theCUBE from the SiliconANGLE Media team, conducted a special interview with Nontombi Naomi Tutu, race and gender justice activist; Karina Hollekim, performance consultant and motivational speaker; and Lara Logan, South African television and radio journalist and 60 Minutes correspondent.

A universal message

Tutu, daughter of social right activist and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Desmond Tutu, opened the discussion by speaking about her youth growing up under apartheid. She mentioned the phrase “turn the terrible into good” and what it meant to her through those experiences.

“There is a point where you have to decide there is something you’re willing to stand up for,” she said.

Logan then joined in, pointing out how people like Desmond Tutu have never been recognized enough. While people think the struggle in South Africa was only about freeing blacks, it wasn’t. Logan stressed that it was a message that resonated because it was about freedom and human rights. She said the greatest lessons of her life were born in that struggle.

Being honest

The talk moved to Hollekim, who described her own life. When she was young, her mother suffered a terrible accident and lost all memories, including those of her young daughter. She later took up extreme sports, like BASE jumping and free skiing, which led to Hollekim almost dying after a long fall. It took years to recover enough to walk again, and longer to piece together a new life. She said the story of adversity is universal, and by being honest with her story she inspires people.

Tutu agreed that kind of honesty and inspiration is necessary. She explained that America has never had a serious conversation about race and racial issues. The first step was to acknowledge that racism exists. People who don’t feel it think it’s a pretend thing, she said. Being honest about racism is a small step, but one that makes a difference in people’s lives.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of the Inforum 2016.

Photo by SiliconANGLE