Matt James posted the first pic of him with Rachael Kirkconnell, and imagery is everything.

As you can see, a black child is hugging Rachael ... and it's pretty much undeniable the photo choice was intentional. As you know, Rachael's romance with Matt collapsed after a photo surfaced of Kirkconnell in her college days at a plantation-themed party. Matt said he couldn't be with her, but clearly had a change of heart.

Matt posted the pic with the caption, "The gift of conversation lies less in displaying it ourselves than in drawing it out of others 🙏🏾"

He goes on ... "Today we began a series focused on financial literacy (savings accounts, what is crypto currency, budgeting, etc.) 🐷💰. Our goal is (and always has been) to provide access to resources, individuals, & opportunities so that our students can make informed decisions for themselves and their families 🙌🏾.."