Image of Black Officer Helping White KKK Member at Confederate Flag Rally Goes Viral
An image of a black police officer helping a white man at a protest organized by the Ku Klux Klan in opposition to the removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina capitol has taken the world by storm after going viral.
The Guardian reports that the officer, Leroy Smith, who is the director of the South Carolina public safety agency, said that he was surprised by the reaction to the photo, which he said represents the true values of South Carolina and the fact that policing is about helping people, regardless of who they are, where they come from, or what they believe.
The photo was first taken by the spokesperson for South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Rob Godfrey, and quickly gained traction online after he posted the image to Twitter.
The man needed help because of his age and the fact that the heat and sun on the day of the protest, July 18, was punishing.
The protest in favor of the Confederate flag was organized by a North Carolina chapter of the KKK called the Loyal White Knights of the KKK. At the same time, a Florida-based group with ties with the New Black Panther held their own rally at the site of a memorial to Confederate soldiers. This led to high tensions in around the capitol, as supporters of both groups mingled.
It is estimated that 2,000 people attended both rallies, at which five people were arrested for offenses including assault and battery, disorderly conduct, and breach of peace. Although the amount of violence was not overwhelming, this is probably due in large part to the presence of police from six different local and state police agencies.
The flag was taken down in reaction to the mass shooting at black church by a white supremacist name Dylann Roof who took pictures of himself burning the American flag and waving the Confederate flag.
