This talk shares a powerful personal story about confronting racism with grace and the transformative concept of “gracism," extending positive favor to others regardless of their color, class, or culture. It challenges us to move beyond anti-racism toward active, compassionate commitments embodied in eight actionable “I will” statements that build bridges of understanding, solidarity, and healing in communities and organizations. Founder and President of Gracism Global, Dr. David Anderson, is one of the world’s leading authorities on building bridges across the deep divides of culture, wealth, faith and race. His global work has brought hope and healing to communities and families in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America, including work in Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, Maryland, during civil unrest around issues of race and police brutality. Dr. Anderson seeks to build a bridge through relevant and intelligent conversation wherever there is a divide. His insight, vision, and passion have made him a widely sought speaker, writer, and consultant for major national and international events, organizations, and policy initiatives. He has appeared on ABC, CNN, FOX, BET, TBN, and C-SPAN television networks and has been interviewed on over 2,000 radio stations worldwide. Dr. Anderson is the bridge-building voice in the nation’s capital as host of the daily radio talk show “RealTalk with Dr. David Anderson” on WAVA (105.1 FM) – the most listened to Christian talk station on the east coast and the 2nd most listened to station in the nation. Dr. Anderson also hosted “Real Talk with Dr. David Anderson” for four seasons on ABC2 in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Anderson earned his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in 2001 from Oxford Graduate School’s American Centre for Religion and Society Studies in the US while studying and defending his essays at Oxford University in England. Dr. Anderson was awarded the Doctor of Letters (D.Litt) in 2021 from Omega Graduate School. He currently serves as the Chancellor of Omega Graduate School, formerly Oxford Graduate School. As the founder and senior pastor of Bridgeway Community Church, Dr. Anderson reaches a dynamic, multicultural congregation of over 5,000 weekly attendees on three campuses from more than 60 different nations. These services are viewed online in over 100 countries. In-person campuses are in Columbia, Maryland, and Owings Mills, Maryland. Dr. Anderson is the author of several books on race and diversity, including “Letters Across the Divide” (Baker, 2001) and “Multicultural Ministry” (Zondervan, 2004), the award-winning “Gracism: The Art of Inclusion” (IVP, 2007), and “I Forgrace You: Doing Good to Those Who Have Hurt You” (IVP, 2011). 2010 Dr. Anderson edited and co-authored the acclaimed Multicultural Ministry Handbook” Creatively Connecting to a Diverse World” (IVP, 2010). Additionally, Dr. Anderson has written “How to Think Like a Gracist” (2018), “Be Encouraged – How to Encourage Yourself and Others in Discouraging Times” (2022), and the premiere revised and expanded edition of Gracism – The Art of Inclusion” (IVP, 2023). All of Dr. Anderson’s resources are available at AndersonSpeaks.com. You can learn more about Dr. Anderson and his work at AndersonSpeaks.com. Dr. Anderson and his family reside in the Washington, DC, area. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx