A photo of two Texas police officers, one black and one white, is making waves across social media, all for a statement they’ve written on their palms.
The photo, tweeted by the Trinity Police Department, shows Trinity Police Chief Steven Jones and Officer Donald Givens side by side, arms extended and palms facing the viewer. Each officer’s palm contains the words, “His Life Matters,” with an arrow pointing to the opposite officer.
The police department from the small town, which is about 90 miles north of Houston, tweeted the image including the hashtag #AllLivesMatter.
The picture has been shared more than 119,000 times since then.
Many who took the time to comment on the photo praised the officers for their effort.
While some feel the action undermines the plight of black Americans and other minority communities saying things like:
“Fighting to stop racially motivated shootings and other unjust criminal justice action, by no means indicates that white lives don’t matter,” a Facebook comment on the photo reads. “The movement simply highlights the clear, data supported…disproportionate actions against people of color.”
Others see the phrase on the police officers’ palms as unifying and uplifting commenting:
“All lives matter. These 2 brothers took an incredible pic to prove it,” one person said. “It’s not about color or race or religion. We are all humans.”
Among those trying to send a positive message after all the recent police shootings is an Oak Grave pastor by the name of Alex Bryant who posted a video with his family that now has more than 11 million views on Facebook.
“We just wanted to figure out what our response as a family would be,’ said the pastor.
Bryant and his wife Angela have five children. They’re a bi-racial family from Oak Grove who used to live in St. Louis and also witnessed the protests and riots in Ferguson. After seeing the recent shootings in Louisiana, Minnesota and Dallas, they felt the need to send out a positive message.
“Being a black man, I see it from that perspective but also I have police officers in my family.”
The pastor holds up notes throughout the 3-minute video, with the main message being unity. One card reads, “It’s dark vs. light. Not black vs. white.”
Watch the video below…
