On my way home, I saw it happen.

A vehicle struck a motorcycle from behind — hard. The rider was launched into the air, flipping violently before landing roughly in a ditch, about 25 feet away. Time froze. Then it cracked open.

Without thinking, I pulled over, grabbed my phone, and dialed 911. Then I climbed down the ditch to him — to Joe. He wasn’t moving. For a moment, I thought he was gone.

But then he stirred.

A medical professional happened to be driving by and pulled over to help, thank God. But I stayed too. I knelt beside Joe, held his hand, and kept talking. Anything to keep him awake. Anything to keep him here.

He told me about his wife.
He joked — actually joked — about his motorcycle.
He asked me to take pictures of the wreck.
He said, “I want to have a cool story to tell.”

And I did. I snapped a few shots for him, heart pounding, praying he’d have the chance to tell that story someday.

When the EMS crew arrived and took over, I stepped back. That’s when I overheard a woman nearby, who had been watching the whole time, say something that stopped me cold:

“I’m shocked you did all that.”

I turned, confused.
She clarified, with a half-shrug:

“Honey, this is the South. I’m just saying… I’m shocked you did all that for him.”

And my heart sank.

I realized in that moment — she wasn’t surprised someone had helped. She was surprised I helped him. Maybe because of the color of his skin. Maybe because of mine. Maybe because that’s just what she was taught to expect — or not to.

But here’s the truth:
I didn’t care what he looked like.
I didn’t care if he was different from me.
I didn’t care about his politics, his background, or what social distancing rules said.
He was a human being in need.
That’s all I saw.
That’s all I needed to see.

We don’t have to look alike to care for each other.
We don’t have to think the same to act with love.
Hate is not something we’re born with — it’s something we learn.

But my favorite quote from Nelson Mandela reminds me:

“If they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love.”

So teach with kindness. Lead with compassion. Love fiercely — yourself, and others.

Because when everything else is stripped away — race, class, politics, opinions — we are all just people trying to make it through the day.

Humanity is my race.
Love knows no boundaries.