For the past few years, racial tensions in the United States have been increasing.
Neo-Nazi organizations like the National Socialist Movement have been becoming more vocal with continual anger burning on both sides of the fence.
But in this incredible video, one man demonstrates the true power of love.
Last October, Aaron Alex Courtney, 31, received a state of emergency text alert on his cell phone.
Expecting to see news of an incoming storm or flood, the high school football coach was surprised to hear a man was cause for the alarm. According to the text, Richard Spencer would be speaking at the University of Florida— but at the time, Courtney didn’t know who he was.
After doing some research, Courtney decided to attend the event.
For those who are unaware, Richard Spencer is an American white supremacist— although he prefers to use softer-sounding terms like ‘white nationalist’ or ‘white identitarian’. Notably, he was the featured speaker at the August 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, where one of his supporters drove a car into a group of counter-protestors, killing one and injuring nearly 20 others.
In an interview, Courtney later explained: “I found out about what kind of person he was and that encouraged me, as an African-American, to come out and protest. Because this is what we’re trying to avoid. It’s people like him who are increasing the distance… between people.”
Courtney protested at the event for four hours.
He was on his way to leave when a white supremacist caught his eye. The man, later identified as Randy Furniss, was wearing a shirt emblazoned with swastikas. He was the center of a ruckus as other protestors surrounded him, screaming, punching, and spitting. But Courtney, whose father was a bishop, decided to take a different approach.
“Something in me said, ‘You know what? He just needs love.'”
“Maybe he never met an African-American like this.”
Upon seeing the white supremacist, Courtney pulled him into a hug and asked: “Why don’t you like me, dog?”
“I had the opportunity to talk to someone who hates my guts, and I wanted to know why,” Courtney told Daily News.
“During our conversation, I asked him, ‘Why do you hate me? What is it about me? Is it my skin color? My history? My dreadlocks?'”
At first, the man brushed off Courtney’s questions. Upon further pressing, he eventually admitted he didn’t know. “I believe that was his sincere answer,” Courtney later said. “He truly doesn’t know.”
The man was ushered away from the scene by the police— but before leaving the event, he took a photo with Courtney’s friend. “I honestly feel that was a step in the right direction,” said Courtney. “For him to take a picture with a guy that he hated when he woke up this morning.”
“One hug can really change the world. It’s really that simple.”
When the footage of the interaction was uploaded, it immediately went viral.
It’s the perfect example of love conquering hate, and comments on the story read:
“Just by hugging him that black guy destroyed that neo-Nazi’s beliefs. Good for him.”
“Some of these Nazis had grandfathers that fought in Germany against Hitler. Now their offspring are Nazis marching in America. I’m still trying to make sense of all this.”
“Another example of acceptance being more powerful than violence.”
Watch the incredible moment below.
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