There’s been a lot of tragedy during this last week, with the deaths of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and five police officers escorting a Black Lives Matter march in Dallas Thursday night. The Dallas shooting could have made racial tensions worse, but at least in some cases, it has brought people together. On Sunday, a video of Dallas residents hugging the city’s police officers went viral. Now, a CNN video of Black Lives Matter protesters and their counter-protestors has also gone viral, showing what is possible in healing the divide that has created all this pain and suffering.
The CNN video above shows the protestors and counter-protestors meeting on the streets of Dallas, with the Black Lives Matter protestors chanting “too black, too strong,” while the counter-protestors surround themselves with flags bearing “Texas” and a drawing of a gun on it. “We all matter. Hell!” one of them says. The two demonstrations start at opposite ends of the same street until representatives from each group meet in the middle.
It’s unclear what was said at first, and why they both decided to approach each other, but soon both groups are meeting and everybody starts hugging each other. They then pray for Dallas together, and the police officers assigned to watch both groups join in.
It’s still heartwarming to see a Black Lives Matter and an All Lives Matter group display some solidarity, rather than more violence. This surely didn’t solve America’s racial divide completely, but it’s a step in the right direction.