Powerful Photo Shows Brave Students Standing Up To A Sea Of White Supremacists
These UVA students are brave as hell.
The town of Charlottesville, Virgina is on edge as clashes intensify between white supremacists and counter-protesters on the campus of University of Virgina. On Friday night, hundreds of white supremacists descended upon the University of Virginia campus. Through the midst of chaos and hate speech, one powerful photo of UVA students holding a sign that reads, “VA Students Act Against White Supremacy” was circulating on Twitter.
“These are literally young UVA students age 17-23 standing up to a sea of white supremacists and neo-Nazis surrounding them,” the tweet reads.
Image via Twitter/Sophia Armen
The scene in Charlottesville is incredibly tense right now and grabbing headlines across the nation and world, but the actions of student counter-protesters last night are also receiving some much-needed positive attention and praise. While supporters of the “Unite the Right” marched through the streets spouting hatred and carrying tiki torches, brave UVA students heroically stood up to them.
Terry McAuliffe, governor of Virginia, has even declared a state of emergency “to aid state response to violence” ahead of Saturday’s “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, according to ABC News. Arrests are being made as police have deemed the gathering an Emancipation Park unlawful.
Image via Twitter/Sophia Armen
These students stood there in the midst of the chaos, with no protection, as physical fights broke out. According to WVIR, punches were thrown, there was pushing and shoving, and some of the marchers used their fiery torches as spears towards counterprotestors.
The photo above quickly went viral and many started applauding the students for their bravery.
One reply read, “In this time of blustery BS, there’s a lot of confusion about what it means to be brave or ‘tough.’ For clarification, look at these people.”
https://twitter.com/jetpack/status/896229791606734848
https://twitter.com/jetpack/status/896282235032162306
If this picture is any indication, these students demonstrate what it actually means to be brave.
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