A local photographer captured a sweet moment of innocence in the midst of a tense clash between protesters and counter-demonstrators at Stone Mountain Park Saturday.
Freelance journalist Je’ Wesley captured the moment on camera and gave Channel 2 Action News permission to use the video.
In the video, a line of police officers in full riot gear stand shoulder-to-shoulder on a Stone Mountain street. Nearby, a Georgia militia group and counter-protesters were coming to blows about the Confederate carving on the mountain.
The young Black boy standing in front of the officers doesn't seem to realize the racial tensions that are playing out nearby. He just seems fascinated.
6-year-old James, dressed in a bright blue T-shirt and flip flops, seems to flirt with the idea of talking to the officers as helicopters buzz overhead.
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Off-camera, his mother warns him to stay back, but James has other ideas. He waves at the officers. He walks toward them backwards. He turns around to wave again.
“Hi,” he says shyly.
Behind the camera, Je’ Wesley asks James why he wants to say hello to the officers. James tells him it’s a secret, but nods his head when Je’ Wesley asks if he wants to be an officer some day.
And then, the moment of connection: A white officer reaches around his riot shield and extends his fist.
James quickly runs toward him, exchanges a quick fist bump and then goes skipping back to his mother, throwing his arms around her.
James’ mother, Jazmine Williams, told our partners at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she and her son were detoured through the neighborhood as they drove to their home in Stone Mountain.
Williams said she stopped to see what was happening, not aware of the tense clashes between protesters nearby. She praised officers for how they handled James' curiosity.
Williams told the AJC that she thinks James would make a good officer one day.
“He’d be a good officer because he’d be able to lead his peers to do the right thing and treat people the right way,” she said. “Not always operating out of hate and fear. Just giving love and life to the people they’re supposed to be protecting.”
Je’ Wesley said what James went through in those moments reflected what a lot of people in the black community feel about law enforcement.
“It was iconic to see this little guy, so innocently walk up to the police with much curiosity, caution and hesitation,” Je’ Wesley said. “His reaction was parallel to most adults, which is they want to trust the police but are reluctant. These sentiments are definitely felt within the black community. For him to tell me that him liking the police was a secret, was defining to his guilt, due to what he’s see or heard. I just wanted to capture his innocence. It shows how hate is a learned behavior based on experience or being taught.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contributed to this report.
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