Shomari Stone (pictured) is a reporter out of Seattle that you probably haven't heard of until now. After his heroic actions this week, though, you will have respect for the man who showed courage when others would have walked the other way.

Stone was out filming a segment, when he noticed some men fighting. One of the men, a white male, was being beaten badly by a black man, and Stone became concerned.

Going into "Brother mode" (yes, you notice that Stone's speaking style changed upon noticing that he might have to get a little tough), the reporter ran over to stop the fight. Not only did he help to stop the black man from hurting the white guy, he even jumped in to tackle the guy that was on top of the "victim."

I was impressed as I watched the video (you can watch below), hearing the news anchor suddenly prepare to become an aggressor in a very dangerous and unpredictable situation.

Either man could have had a weapon, which is one of the reasons that we don't suggest you try this at home. What was most impressive was the fact that the white man that Stone saved was actually a white supremacist.

The man had Swastika tattoos up and down his arms, and offered one of those tattooed arms to shake Stone's hand. That's when Shomari was as smooth as Denzel in a good movie, telling the man:

"Remember to judge the man by his character and not the color of his skin."

One has to respect Shomari for taking the high road and remaining decent when he would have been justified in behaving otherwise. He also could have played it safe, sitting back and watching the action without taking part in it. Perhaps he reflects a breed of journalist who realizes that rather than simply recording the news, we can all play a role in creating it.

As a side note, MediaTakeout took issue with the fact that it appears that the White Supremacist may have been trying to rob the black man that was beating him. If that's true, then Mr. Stone may have misjudged the events in the case. But given that he was willing to risk his own safety to de-escalate a violent situation, I still applaud what he was trying to do. He had no way of knowing what was going on and was simply trying to stop a fight. Sitting idly by and allowing the black man to beat on the white one would have hardly been a productive reaction from Stone.

Good job, Shomari, you make us all proud.




Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here. To follow Dr. Boyce on Facebook, please click here.