Conference to look at how racism affects mental health

Bob Marley spun racism into reggae music, while Washington-area sniper Lee Boyd Malvo devolved into violence and self-destruction, according to organizers of an upcoming conference that will consider their different responses and the mental health effects of racism. The conference at Meharry Medical Center tomorrow, called ''Creativity and Madness in the African Diaspora,'' will examine how racism and the legacy of slavery pushes some black people either to acts of heroism or creative genius, while others are pushed into violence and mental illness. [more]