'We are one America': Texan explains why he made 'you belong' sign for mosque

When Donald Trump was elected president on Nov. 8, Justin Normand was crushed. The Texas sign shop manager and Hillary Clinton supporter had spent months sharing her posts on his Facebook page and debating the controversies of the now-president-elect’s campaign, it seemed, to no avail.

He felt “in a malaise and at a loss,” he wrote later in a Facebook post. He wondered about what he should do next “to make things better, or even just to slog through.”

Then an idea struck him: a gesture for his “marginalized, fearful, decent, targeted, Muslim neighbors” after Trump’s win. After a week of mulling it over, he took some of the materials from his sign shop Friday and drove to the Islamic Center of Irving nearby. With his cowboy hat firmly planted on his head, he let the sign he made speak for himself: “You belong. Stay strong. Be blessed. We are one America.”

The sign went viral after an author tweeted his photo with the simple caption: “Man outside of a mosque in Texas this morning.” The image ricocheted across the internet without Normand’s name: more than 63,000 people retweeted his image and thousands more expressed their approval (or disapproval) of his message on social sites like Reddit and Facebook.

On Monday night, Normand stepped forward as the man in the photo, to explain why he had been compelled to stand outside the mosque with his sign.

“This wasn’t about expressing agreement; I remain Presbyterian, not Muslim,” he wrote. “It wasn’t about demonstrating my outrage to right-wing drivers driving down Esters Road in front of the mosque... This was about binding up the wounded. About showing compassion and empathy for the hurting and fearful among us. Or, in some Christian traditions, this was about washing my brother’s feet.

“This was about my religion, not theirs.”

Normand added that “what I did isn’t (or shouldn’t be) all that extraordinary.”

He urged other Americans to “find a group marginalized by the haters in this current era we find ourselves in. Then, find a way to express your acceptance to that group in a physically present way, as opposed to a digital one.”

“I can assure you, from their outpouring of smiles, hugs, tears, hospitality, messages extending God’s love, and a bouquet of flowers, it will mean a lot.”

Normand’s husband Gary Cathey shared the photo of Normand standing in front of the mosque, adding that they had seen their own share of heightened reactions to his action.

“When he made his sign and stood there he had no idea anyone would even take a photo, much less that it would go viral,” Cathey wrote. “We have been Unfriended by family and best friends. We have prayed. This was his simple act and it is touching untold numbers at this moment.”

But, Cathey suggested, the gesture was worth it.

“He is the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me, my answered prayer,” he added. “Be like this guy.”

This story was originally published November 30, 2016 at 9:39 AM with the headline "'We are one America': Texan explains why he made 'you belong' sign for mosque."