Two Best Friends of Different Races Start a Movement to Fight Hate That Has the Neighbors Talking

Benjamin Smith and Marcus Ellis, two best friends of different races, are the change they want to see in the world.

These young men portray an image that we want to see more often in the society and show that race should never be the reason why people feel distant, instead, the differences should only make them closer and more accepting of one another.

Smith, who is Caucasian, and Ellis, who is African American, have been friends for many years. But today, they want to show everyone how the death of George Floyd, a black man killed by a white police officer, that touched them deeply didn’t brought them apart, on the contrary, they became even closer and want to share the message that people can be only good and bad and never judged based on their race or appearance.

“I fought for a free America, a just America. And when I heard about the George Floyd incident, I just, it really really upset me. That’s not what I fought for,” Smith who is a former marine said.

Both Smith and Ellis support the movement Black Lives Matter, but are convinced the protests shouldn’t be nothing but peaceful, because that is the only way the message of everyone taking part in that movement to be spread.

In order to raise people’s awareness of the fact that violence is never an option, these two came with a great idea. They put some signs in front of Smith’s home saying, “Black or White” and “Relax and have a beer” and placed an extra chair for those who want to join them and share a drink with them.

Interestingly enough, many people who saw the friends chilling decided to stop and chat about the unrest that is happening in the country and what could be done for things to get better in the future.

The friends’ “movement” on their own reached the news and many agree how what they do to fight hate and racism is awesome.

Although they are perfectly aware things will take time to be put on the right path in America, they are glad they are serving as an example of how people who are “different” should come together.

Celtic Thunder Sings ‘Amazing Grace’ Like It’s Never Been Sung Before

‘Amazing Grace’ was first published back in 1779 and was written some years earlier by famous English poet and Anglican clergyman John Newton. The story behind this masterpiece known as a Christian hymn is a story of enlightenment and trust in the mercy and power of God.

Newton wasn’t always a religious person, on the contrary, Christianity and religion in general were very distant to him up until a moment in his life when he sought from God to spare his life.

Source: Wikipedia

Namely, when he was still young, he was forced to serve the Royal Navy, but didn’t see that as his calling and tried to escape. His plan failed, however, and Newton was publicly flogged in front of the whole crew, receiving 96 lashes. After he was transferred to another ship, the crew left him in he hands of a slave dealer from South Africa where he ended being a slave for the Princess Peye of the Sherbro people. This princess was known as a cruel woman who treated her slaves awfully. There, Newton learned the cruel reality behind the life of the slaves and did all in his power to put an end to slavery once he was set free.

Source: Wikipedia/The Cowper and Newton Museum

It was during his rescue, when his father sent a ship to get him home, that he discovered God. Horrific storm hit the ship and Newton turned to God to please him to be saved. After the storm was over and he was safe and sound he knew God and Christianity were his calling, so he became a priest. The hymn, Amazing Grace, has been written as a result of this experience.

Source: Amazon/Celtic Thunder

We bet you have heard this extraordinary piece of music being performed by numerous artists, known and unknown, but we all have to agree that nothing sounds as angelic and as touching as the a capella version of Celtic Thunder.

This group steals the hearts of many whenever they perform. Their pure vocals and undeniable talents made them famous all around the world.

Source: Youtube screenshot

Soloists Keith Harkin, Ryan Kelly, Emmet Cahill, George Donaldson, Colm Keegan, and Neil Byrne, along with the band, make magic happen whenever they are on the stage.

Listening to them performing ‘Amazing Grace’ will leave you in chills. Check them out below and make sure you share the joy with your friends.

Teen Takes to the Buffalo Streets to Clean Up after Protests and is Gifted a Scholarship and a Car

The protests under the movement Black Lives Matter are still taking place all over the country and people get on the streets asking for the police brutality to be put to an end.

And while they make sure they spread their message across, they leave garbage on the streets.

Source: Screenshot via WKBW TV/YouTube

18-year-old Antonio Gwynn Jr. from Buffalo, New York, wants to make sure the Bailey Avenue, where he resides, gets cleaned after the protests are over.

So, without even thinking twice, this young man took a broom and a trash bag and started sweeping and cleaning the road at 2 am. He knew people would use the road in the morning and walking on litter and broken glass wouldn’t be pleasant, so he just wanted to make something nice for the members of his community.

Source: Screenshot via WKBW TV/YouTube

Believe it or not, Gwynn spent 10 hours cleaning the streets. Seeing him working hard to get the litter and the waste off of the neighborhood, some of the neighbors decided to organize and help. But at the time they arrived, Gwynn had already done most of the work himself.

His selfless deed made Gwynn sort of a celebrity in his community and everyone knew he was a great young man. Gwynn’s mother died two years ago, but we are sure she’s looking at him from Heaven and is proud of him.

Source: Screenshot via WKBW TV/YouTube

The community wanted to step in for him after they learned he wanted to attend college and was working to save some money up. The first person to help was a man named Matt Block who gave Gwynn his 2004 red Mustang convertible. He said he was planning on selling it, but once he noticed Gwynn was asking for car-buying advice on Facebook, he knew this young teen was just the person to have his car. This meant the world to Gwynn especially because his mother drove a red Mustang before she died.

Source: Screenshot via WKBW TV/YouTube

This was just the first of the series of good deeds the community did for Gwynn. After a man named Bob Briceland learned of the teen and Block’s gift, he offered 3 years of free auto insurance through his agency. “I just felt compelled to help him out. We just need to get together our whole city and show people how there’s so many good people here,” Briceland told WKBW News.

Source: Screenshot via WKBW TV/YouTube

The best is yet to come. Medaille College in Buffalo offered the teen a full scholarship so he will be will majoring in business this coming Fall.

Source: Screenshot via WKBW TV/YouTube

We are so glad there are young people like Gwynn out there who care for the community and want to be important part of it. And for the city and all the people who paid him forward, they are inspiring others to be as kind and as thoughtful as Gwynn, and that is how things should be done if we want to make this world a better place for everyone.

You can take a look at the video of Gwynn below.

High School Wouldn’t Let Star-Student Attend Her Grad Ceremony Because of Her Braided Hair

High school graduation ceremony is something every graduate is looking forward to. It is a time of celebrating success and cherishing a chapter of the students’ lives.

But what happens if the school forbids someone from attending such an important event because of a bizarre reason?

Source: KJ Hooper/Facebook

Kienjanae “KJ” Hooper is an excellent student with straight A’s in all her subjects. Not even the global pandemic stood on her way of receiving a certificate of achievement. Her parents are very proud of her, not only because of her success at school, but also because she’s a great kid.

Source: KJ Hooper/Facebook

Despite the pandemic, the school she attends, Gladewater High School in Texas, organized a graduation ceremony, following the rules of social distancing.

Kienjanae was overly excited to meet her friends again, but then the principal, Cathy Bedair, called her mom just four days before the event and told her how Kienjanae couldn’t attend it because of her braided hair. Both Kienjanae and her mom were shocked to hear that, especially because Kienjanae attended classes with that same hairstyle and it was never an issue up until that moment.

Source: KJ Hooper/Facebook

Of course, Kienjanae’s mom, Kieana, wouldn’t accept something like that so she contacted a lawyer to see whether the school had the right to forbid her daughter from being around her friends on the most important day of her life.

Source: KJ Hooper/Facebook

Once the lawyer contacted the school, they said how the principal made a completely different request from what the mother and daughter said she did. Apparently, the problem wasn’t in the braids, but Kienjanae’s dyed hair.

Source: KJ Hooper/Facebook

So, the school offered a compromise, to let Kienjanae attend the graduation ceremony only if she wore a cap. Of course, the family didn’t accept this as they believed the school was making a huge deal out of nothing.

Source: KJ Hooper/Facebook

When the graduation day came around, Kienjanae put on her lovely dress and wore her dyed hair with pride. She looked truly stunning.

Source: KJ Hooper/Facebook

We are glad this excellent student got to enjoy her special day, but we can’t help but wonder how could the principal make her go through so much stress over a hairstyle and come up with rules just days before the ceremony.

Man Films Being Kicked Out by Store Employee for Not Wearing Mask, People Take Employee’s Side

Now that social distancing became our reality, the World Health Organization is urging each of us to follow the recommendations and help fight the deadly coronavirus. In addition to that, we need to wear masks and cover our mouth and nose whenever we are in public, especially when shopping and being around other people.

Source: Pexels

The biggest problem is that many people refuse to obey the rules and believe they are immune to the virus that is still spreading very quickly in almost every country of the world.

That is why many businesses impose their own rules and demand from the clients and customers to wear masks when using their services. Despite that, there are clients who choose not to respect them and it leads to incidents such as that involving a Reddit user who goes by the name u/foamlab. Namely, he shared how he didn’t wear a mask while shopping and apparently one of the employees took his cart and harassed him because of that. “Costco employee breaks social distancing guidelines to harass me and take my cart because I didn’t have a mask on,” he wrote hoping to receive sympathy from people. But he got just the opposite.

Source: Screenshot via Galaxy Views/Reddit

People said how he wasn’t really harassed, just asked to follow the company’s rules and respect their policy and stood on the side of the employee Tison who could be heard saying, “Hi everyone! I work for Costco and I’m asking this member to put on a mask because that is our company policy.”

Source: Screenshot via Galaxy Views/Reddit

Many Redditors got angry with the man filming saying he was putting many at risk by not wearing a mask.

Instead of whining that “he woke up in a free country” and “he’s not a sheep” he should have think about others instead of being stubborn and getting into an argument with the employee who was only doing his job.

Source: Screenshot via Galaxy Views/Reddit

“Costco is a membership club and it’s also private property. When you sign up for a membership, you sign the application saying that you agree to follow the rules, which may change at any time: ‘Membership is subject to any and all rules adopted by Costco including our privacy policies and practices, and they may be amended from time to time without notice,’” one user wrote.

“So you went into the store knowing the rules, put yourself and everyone else at risk, immediately became offensive when confronted, fully made an ass of yourself, and then decided to post it on Reddit. you really should work on developing a sense of shame,” another added.

Source: r/PublicFreakout on Reddit

After the public backlash he received, the user deleted the video along with his account.

Thank God there are people out there like those users who took the employee’s side and helped spread awareness of the seriousness of the pandemic.

German Restaurant Owner Bans Children Under 14 from Dining

Parents these days seem to be letting their children behave the way they want. They are not as nearly as strict as our parents were back in the day and that results in generations who don’t know how to act in public properly.

Well, one restaurant owner, Rudolf Markl, couldn’t put up with the unattended children of customers running around the place and doing what they please, disturbing other guests, so he dealt with it in a very unconventional manner. He simply forbade children under the age of 14 dinning at Oma’s Kuche (Grandma’s Kitchen,) and turned the place into an adult-only restaurant.

Source: Wikipedia

Markl says how he had spent years of hard work to turn the restaurant into a nice establishment with a great atmosphere, but kids screaming and fighting there every single day seemed to be leading towards ruining all that. What frustrated Markl the most was the fact that no parent ever tried to calm their children down. They seemed not to care what their youngsters were doing and it was left to the place’s staff to tell the kids how to behave, which is something their moms and dads should have done before taking them out.

Source: DW

The breaking point that led to his decision to ban kids from his restaurant was an unpleasant incident that took place recently. Namely, two kids were running around the place, and as their parents did nothing, he had to run after them making sure they don’t bother the rest of the customers. However, they wouldn’t stop making a mess and one of them broke some antiques that were very expensive and of great value to Markl.

Source: Francebrocantes/Instagram

The pieces of history were smashed right in front of Markl’s eyes.

What was most frustrating of all is that the parents barely apologized, defending their kids because, you know, they are just kids.

However, no matter how angry and frustrated Markl was over the incident, it was something that he could use to back his decision for not letting children in.

He was happy now, but also knew that banning children at all times could affect the business, so he decided they were allowed at the restaurant but only until 5 p.m. This way, at least the evenings would be calm and enjoyable for the customers.

Source: DW

As expected, many parents weren’t happy with this ban and said their children were discriminated. And as it turned out, the German law says the same. But even though he knows his no-children policy could be ruled as being illegal, he’s not willing to let go of it, even if that means spending time and money in court.

Source: DW

We are not yet certain what will happen in the future, but as for now, Markl can enjoy his quiet nights at his restaurant.

It looks like other restaurant owners, including some in America, are sharing Markl’s opinion and are establishing similar policies. Take a look at the video below to learn more.

Teacher Is Left Heartbroken after Reading Her Worst Student’s Personal File

Teachers can have lifelong impact on their students as what they do goes way beyond teaching them different things about different subjects. The story of a teacher named Jean Thompson and a very special student named Teddy Stoddard is the perfect example of that. This touching story will melt your heart. Read it below.

Jean Thompson stood in front of her fifth-grade class on the very first day of school in the fall and told the children a lie. Like most teachers, she looked at her pupils and said that she loved them all the same, that she would treat them all alike. And that was impossible because there in front of her, slumped in his seat on the third row, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.

Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed he didn’t play well with the other children, that his clothes were unkept and that he constantly needed a bath. And Teddy was unpleasant.

It got to the point during the first few months that she would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X’s and then marking the F at the top of the paper biggest of all. Because Teddy was a sullen little boy, no one else seemed to enjoy him, either.

At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child’s records and put Teddy’s off until last. When she opened his file, she was in for a surprise. His first-grade teacher wrote, “Teddy is a bright, inquisitive child with a ready laugh.” “He does his work neatly and has good manners…he is a joy to be around.”

His second-grade teacher wrote, “Teddy is an excellent student well-liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle.”

His third-grade teacher wrote, “Teddy continues to work hard but his mother’s death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best but his father doesn’t show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren’t taken.”

Teddy’s fourth-grade teacher wrote, “Teddy is withdrawn and doesn’t show much interest in school. He doesn’t have many friends and sometimes sleeps in class. He is tardy and could become a problem.”

By now Mrs. Thompson realized the problem, but Christmas was coming fast. It was all she could do, with the school play and all, until the day before the holidays began and she was suddenly forced to focus on Teddy Stoddard.

Her children brought her presents, all in beautiful ribbon and bright paper, except for Teddy’s, which was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper of a scissored grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents.

Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of cologne. She stifled the children’s laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume behind the other wrist. Teddy Stoddard stayed behind just long enough to say, “Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my mom used to.”

After the children left she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading, writing, and speaking. Instead, she began to teach children. Jean Thompson paid particular attention to one they all called “Teddy.”

As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. On days where there would be an important test, Mrs. Thompson would remember that cologne. By the end of the year he had become one of the smartest children in the class and…well, he had also become the “pet” of the teacher who had once vowed to love all of her children exactly the same.

A year later she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that of all the teachers he’d had in elementary school, she was his favorite. Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy.

He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still his favorite teacher of all time.

Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he’d stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson she was still his favorite teacher.

Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor’s degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still his favorite teacher, but that now his name was a little longer. The letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, M.D.

The story doesn’t end there. You see, there was yet another letter that Spring. Teddy said he’d met this girl and was to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering…well, if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit in the pew usually reserved for the mother of the groom. And guess what, she wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. And I bet on that special day, Jean Thompson smelled just like…well, just like the way Teddy remembered his mother smelling on their last Christmas together.

The moral of this story is that we should always mind the way we treat others because we never know what emotions our actions can trigger and how they will impact those around us.

Sisters, 14 and 12, Killed by Falling Bricks as They Both Laid in Their Backyard Hammock

Two sisters from Ohio, aged 14 and 12, lost their lives in a freak accident that occurred in their family backyard. Reports say that Scout and Casey Scaravilli were lying in the hammock that was tied to a brick pillar and a tree when the pillar collapsed and the bricks fell on them and crushed them.

They were taken to hospital but were pronounced dead a couple of hours later, Fox 8 Cleveland reported.

Their family and the whole community are grieving over the loss of the girls and are left heartbroken. Hathaway Brown Head of School Fran Bisselle said “They will be greatly missed by so many friends, classmates, and teachers. Our thoughts and prayers are dedicated to their family.”

Daily Mail spoke with the girls’ father who said he was at the backyard at the time of the incident but everything happened “in an instant.” He couldn’t believe a brick pillar could fall just like that.

The incident is still under investigation. Scout and Casey left behind their parents and two younger twin sisters. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.