If you want at least one moment of respite from the bitter quarreling in Ferguson, you’re not alone. That’s the impetus behind a photograph going viral of a 12-year-old black boy and a white policeman.
Watch below:
An African-American boy holding a “Free Hugs” sign stood crying in front of a police barricade at a Ferguson rally in Portland. A white police officer motioned for him to come closer. The officer then asked the boy for a hug ? and they embraced, the boy’s anguished face streaming with tears.A photographer captured the encounter earlier this week, and the photo has become popular on social media. It’s an unusual image as people around the country protest a grand jury’s decision to not indict a white police officer in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri.
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A day after the decision on officer Darren Wilson in the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown, the Harts went downtown “with the intention of spreading love and kindness” by holding signs such as “You Matter” and “Free Hugs,” Jennifer Hart said. The family then joined the nearby Ferguson rally.
Barnum, who works for the traffic division, had been dispatched to a downtown intersection to help with traffic and crowd control. In the middle of the block, hundreds of protesters listened to speeches about the relationship between police and black residents.
Earlier that week, when an officer posted on Facebook a badge of the Portland Police Bureau with an “I am Darren Wilson” banner, Barnum had “liked” the post. The officers were later ordered to remove the images and the matter is under an internal investigation.
It’s probably best to judge people according to the content of their character, and not their color. Unless you’re a hipster.