EUBANKS: I felt isolated and I felt alone. I didn't have anyone to talk to here at work.

NARRATOR: In this episode, you'll hear Evette, a case manager in Arizona, and Tara, a surgery scheduler in Minnesota, share how they came together to make a positive change.

EUBANKS: On May 25, George Floyd was murdered in Minnesota. On June 2, I received a message on LinkedIn from a colleague, Tara Miller.

MILLER: We didn't really know each other prior to this. LinkedIn brought us together as colleagues of Mayo Clinic, and we've just reached out to each other for little things — minor triumphs that we've gone through and just a brief messages to each other.

The reason that I reached out is the news was showing everything that was happening — the riots going on and the looting. The part that disturbed me the most is that I felt like other things took precedence over what truly had happened. Evette was on my heart that night, and I felt the need to reach out to her and just ask her, "How are you?" In that moment I asked her, "I don't want to overstep any boundaries and please stop me if I do, but how would you feel about an 'I See You' movement where we begin the conversation and start to break down the walls and barriers between African Americans and white people in America?" We really need to work toward this change.

EUBANKS: It's funny listening to you tell your part of the story because I always think that nothing happens by chance. For you to be all the way in Minnesota and for me to be on your mind was definitely God's doing. I'm so grateful that you reached out to me that day because I was doing very badly that day.

I imagine, with all of the programs that are being rolled out and initiatives, that there are likely not a lot of African Americans within Mayo as a whole, and Arizona is no exception. There are not a lot of us in my department. Because of the COVID 19 restrictions among other things, I am currently the only Black woman in my department working on campus.

Here within the walls of Mayo, I felt isolated. It was really tough coming in here every day. I would almost not make it in some days. I was seconds away from not wanting to walk back through the doors of this place again. When you said "I see you," those three words probably saved my Mayo life.

To know that somebody who didn't look like me and that hasn't gone through the struggles that I have gone through said, "You know what? I see you. I don't know what it is that I can do to help. Just let me know, but I'm here to help" — I want to thank you for that.

MILLER: When I got your message back the next day, your first sentence was "When I can stop crying, I will respond to you." When you said that it instantly made me cry and, in that moment, I knew God's purpose for me. It was touching and soon, we were sending emails rapid-fire emails out to the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

We are building up momentum for change within the walls of Mayo Clinic so that we can help to create that change outside the walls of Mayo Clinic.

There's just been so much hurt and so much heartache. As a strong African American woman, you probably can hold your own, but it's nice to have somebody to walk beside you. I want to be that person.

EUBANKS: One of the most important things to do is letting other people know that you see them, especially as we now move into this movement to address systemic racism and fix a lot of problems that have been swept under the rug for so long. It's important to be intentional. When you recognize that you are white and your colleague is Black, it's OK. We know we're Black. We know you're white. It's OK to talk about race. It's OK to recognize our differences.

MILLER: And it's OK to see people of color. See color. There's no other way around it. If you don't see it, you're sweeping it under the rug, and that's such an issue. We have to see so we can make that change.

EUBANKS: You said it just a few minutes ago. You said "I know you're a strong Black woman." You know that I stand in front of the mirror every morning and tell myself "Yes, I'm a strong Black woman." Just because we can do things ourselves doesn't mean we want to all of the time, and we shouldn't have to. To know that we have non-people of color who are willing to stand beside us in this fight is quite refreshing. The word "allyship" is being used a lot now. There is going to be some power that grows from that word if we have allies that have this power that they've been wielding for all of this time and not even knowing it. We talk about "white privilege." That word knocks some people off of their rocker as well. These are the conversations that we need to be having.

MILLER: That's why you and I coming together as a strong African-American woman and a strong white woman. Coming together is powerful and unique. You can fight as much as you want to, but you can't fight alone. Together we'll rise.

EUBANKS: I think one of the coolest things about our vision, that I would throw out to everyone, is to be open to having these discussions. Part of why we've been stuck where we are for so long is because people don't want to have these discussions. And I get it. Every time I talk about the day that you reached out to me, I cry like a big baby. But it really means that much to me. For someone who doesn't know me and to see me going about my regular day, you would never ever know just how heavy all of what I was carrying around was. And even when I attempted to have conversations with people, they would very quickly divert the conversation in a whole other direction.

I get it. It's uncomfortable. It's frustrating. It's scary. It's sad and it's so many things. All of these emotions running through you every single day and then you have to come in here and put on your Mayo face and suppress all of that.

People should know that emotions are OK. You don't have to agree with everything that I say. You can get mad about some things that I say, and we can talk about that. I'm going to respect you. You are going to respect me. But we're going to talk through it. And if I cry, it's not because you made me cry. It's because I'm passionate about what it is we're talking about. And if I'm passionate enough to cry about it, believe that there's something I would like to do about it. So Tara, thank you for stepping up to the plate.

MILLER: Thank you for accepting that and accepting me to walk with you in this fight.

EUBANKS: You are all the way in New Prague. I'm here in Arizona. And in a week's span, when all of that was going on, with all of the people walking around here in this hospital not one single person said "Hey, how are you doing?" I know I must have looked a hot mess because that's how I felt, but I still kept showing up.

I was late for a whole week straight. I was late because I wasn't sleeping. I had a hard time getting out of bed in the morning because I didn't know if I wanted to come back to this place because I knew how each previous day had been.

MILLER: My recommendation for all of my fellow colleagues within Mayo Clinic is to start to develop compassion toward not just other people, but people of color. Let's start to have those conversations. It's as simple as saying "How are you?" Start the conversation with each other. Begin to break down those walls and barriers that history has put up for us. Let's start to walk with each other instead of walking past each other.

EUBANKS: Just because somebody looks like they're doing well on the outside does not mean they're doing well on the inside. "I see you" — those three words can very literally save someone's life. If you take a few seconds out of your day and let someone know that you see them, you're helping to change the world.

NARRATOR: Consider your opportunities to say "I see you" to your colleagues, friends and family. Start the conversation and be part of opening up and making a change.