Zea, a 7-year-old first grader, silently faces down a homophobic street preacher in full cry, while holding out a rainbow flag. I believe Zea’s a steadfast and peaceful protest would make Gandhi and the Reverend Martin Luther King proud.
The video was taken by Zea’s father Ryan Bowling, who describes the scenario.
“Zea didn’t just flash the flag at that hatemonger, and bail. They went toe to toe, for several minutes, while he bellowed all of his fire and brimstone right in her face,” Bowling wrote on Facebook. “Grown man vs first grader. She told me afterward that she did feel scared. The one thing the people of #comfest2015 never let her feel though? Alone.”
The face-off took place at ComFest, an annual arts and music festival in Columbus, Ohio. The SCOTUS marriage equality ruling was handed down the day before Zea and her family attended the festival, which had also become an impromptu celebration of the ruling.
#LoveWins again