This Sweet Couple Got Engaged At A BLM Protest & It Was Everything
Black Lives Matter protests across the country are inspiring much-needed change, and for North Carolina couple Marjorie Alston, 23, and Xavier Young, 26, the movement also inspired a change in their relationship status. The couple got engaged at a Black Lives Matter Protest on May 30, and luckily, an onlooker caught the sweet moment on video. Grab the tissues, because this is the best thing you'll see all day.
Alston told Essence that she and Young had already been planning on getting engaged, but the proposal definitely caught her by surprise. “I knew a proposal was coming because I picked out my ring a week before,” Alston said. “But I didn’t think he would propose so soon and I most definitely didn’t think he would do it at the protest.”
Young himself wasn't sure the protest would be the right time to propose, but he grabbed the engagement ring on his way out, “just in case." Once there, he felt so moved by the moment, he got down on one knee. The proposal was captured by fellow protestors while a crowd gathered around the couple and cheered as Alston nodded yes.
The couple is already looking forward to telling their kids the story of their engagement. "I can’t wait to tell our kids, nieces, and nephews,” said Alston. “With the way 2020 is going, it will be nice to have something positive to look back on.” That moment might not be too far off, as the couple is expecting their first child in November. “As a father, I look forward to doing activities with and for my kid like joining the PTA and coaching,” Young told Essence. “As a husband, I look forward to building a family and coming home to Marjorie every day.”
Young's protest proposal speaks to the values the couple intends to instill in their child. “I want to show our child that being Black, you must be proud and can’t let the world tear you down. Being Black comes in many shades and personalities, and [you should never] let anyone tell you how to be a Black person in America,” she said.
Yes to all of this. Congratulations to this sweet couple!
