Black History Month is here. I hadn't planned it ahead of time, but on the first of the month I decided I was going to write a series of posts on Black History, African American History, and current issues black and brown people face, with a tiny bit of knowledge about history, we can see that the current troubles in this country do stem back to the past. When atrocities are committed against a people it takes many more generations than you think to heal and create an equal society. We are not living in a Post-Racist America, or world. The term is offensive. If you don't know why, please get a dictionary, and learn what "post-" and then "racist" mean. Put them together. I know my regular readers already get this.
I started writing about black people and created four posts in two days but then I started realizing that there is a current issue related directly to one of the people I had just happen to choose to write about because I believe in what he has done, is doing and wanted to highlight that.
I knew the Super Bowl was coming soon, and found out from my in-laws the other day that it was this Sunday (today). I don't think of such things, because I'm not really a sports person (except for Olympic Women's Beach Volleyball. A very enjoyable sport indeed). But the interesting thing is that I choose to spend hours writing about two athletes because I believed in the social justice they did in the past, and are fighting for now.
The person I wrote about today is Colin Kaepernick, as former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. In a nutshell, what Kaepernick did was start kneeling during the national anthem at games to protest violence and injustice towards people of color. (pic from nydailynews.com)
The NFL basically blackballed Kaepernick, and also I might add, went with the opinion of Trump, who was adamant that the players protesting should be fired.
(pic from salon.com)
So the issue now, I've found online, is who is and who is not going to participate in the Super Bowl. Different stars have decided not to play at the half-time show or act in the famous Super Bowl Commercials. The NAACP is encouraging this as well. An actor who supports this boycott is Amy Schumer. A few of the musicians who support the boycott are Rhianna
(Rhianna pic from tvguide.com) and Cardi B who support Kaepernick and Black Lives Matter.
The socially conscious rapper Common, said to TMZ, "I ain't with supporting the NFL. They don't really support black people. They're not supporting [Colin] Kaepernick. Kaepernick said he's standing up for people who are being shot down, black and brown. The NFL basically blackballed him. They've shown how they feel about us for real. I respect the NFL players, but the owners, man, they ain't shown nothing."
Common pic from youthvilliage.com
There is much more that will occur in this case Kaepernick is taking up against the NFL for Collusion. I admit there are many details I do not know, although, I can see the basic evidence and hate discrimination and injustice. Before presenting the post I wrote about Kaepernick I'll just lastly, give you a quote from Kaepernick's high profile attorney Mark Geragos given to NBC's Today Show referring to what I mentioned, about Trump's negative response to Kaepernick and other players peaceful protesting against injustice, "The collusion actually was the NFL kowtowing to the president — I think it's clear."
Black History Series 2019: Colin Kaepernick by: H
I remembered Trump stating that sports is not a place for politics, but then was reminded with some basic knowledge of simple history by some NPR or MSNBC reporter, that there has been a long history of people in sports taking a stand. I think that minimizes athletes and insults their intelligence, and them as people, when they are made to seem like they are simply there to be mindless entities there to entertain us. But athletes, some of which, are very a smart and insightful people, and are allowed their American right to free speech and protest have mixed sports with politics, usually only as a response to injustice rather than something they incite, which is not wrong either. So I choose two athletes, the other one you can read of later, who have advocated for social justice.
That athlete, whom, I’m sure young people will have heard of, because of his football career, or because of his protest is Colin Kaepernick, who is currently a free agent who last played for the San Francisco 49ers. I of course don’t know who a lot of athletes are until they become big (except for LeBron. I’ll tell you the story some day how I was living in Akron, where LeBron James was from, and I watched him come up as a high school star player), but if they do something that I would be more interested in, I usually hear of it from somewhere. Kaepernick’s very peaceful, very simple and quite subtle protest, said volumes. Since this is about history I will be specifically focusing on issues related to African Americans. I want to focus on African Americans or other minorities, but the platform and issues of justice is more important than the race of the person supporting them.
(pic from usmagazine)
Kaepernick is famous for “Taking a Knee”, which was, instead of standing for the national anthem, he kneeled on one knee to protest against racial injustice and systematic oppression in the country. At this time there were a lot of unarmed black men, and also some women being shot and killed by white police officers. In most cases it could be easily seen in the evidence that the officers were in no danger at all, and sometimes shot extra (overkill). And this happened to very young men (children as well). and these white officers were getting off, receiving verdicts of not guilty. I do have to mention, that even though I haven’t been hearing about as much about this issue in the news lately, I know for a fact it is still happening, and it has been happening a long time before citizens started recording it and more people brought the issue into the open!
Kaepernick is biracial like me. He was born in 1987 in Milwaukie, Wisconsin. His birth father separated from his young mother before he was born and his birth mother put him up for adoption. His family already had two older children. Kaepernick played football at a young age, as well as basketball and baseball. He went to the University of Nevada on a Football scholarship, even though he was known for being a great baseball pitcher and had more scholarship offers to play baseball. Also I found out Kaepernick has been a vegan since 2015.
Now back to his simple protest. At first Kaepernick was sitting down during the playing of the national anthem, to protest the injustice mentioned. In a post-game interview after this he said, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder", referencing a series of events that led to the Black Lives Matter movement and adding that he would continue to protest until he feels like "[the American flag] represents what it's supposed to represent." But it wasn’t until he started the kneeling that he got more attention and it started a wider protest movement. And many celebrities quickly supported his cause like Stevie Wonder, Diddy, Tracee Ellis Ross, John Legend and many others. Colin explained his decision to switch was an attempt to show more respect to former and current U.S. military members, while still protesting during the anthem, after having a conversation with a former NFL player and U.S. military veteran. After the September 2016 police shootings of Terence Crutcher and Keith Lamont Scott, Kaepernick commented publicly on the shootings saying, "this is a perfect example of what this is about". Kaepernick went on to kneel during the anthem prior to every 49ers game that season.
After his national anthem protests, Kaepernick pledged to donate one million dollars to "organizations working in oppressed communities." In 2018, Kaepernick announced that he would make the final $100,000 donation of his "Million Dollar Pledge" in the form of $10,000 donations to charities that would be matched by celebrities.
Also in 2016, Kaepernick founded the "Know Your Rights Camp", an organization which holds free seminars to disadvantaged youths to teach them about self-empowerment, American history and legal rights.
This is an ongoing story and this is a young activist. He wants to play football, but if he is not able to get back in the game I believe he can make a big difference because he has already caught a lot of influential people's attention, as well as regular people like us, and we have shown in history, we can make a difference to.
After I think about what a big deal the NFL, the president, and others who are antagonistic towards justice, have made, I remembered something one of my parents, despite some of their flaws, taught me. My mother taught me to not stand for the national anthem. I don't stand for it, I don't put my hand on my heart. Its for the reasons Colin protests, but its also gender, sexual orientation, and many other social injustices. Many things she taught me I didn't continue to do, but this, and the active protesting she taught me, even participated with me in, is something that continues. My parents, of different races fought through society's racism to find love, which is the highest thing, and then to show and teach me justice, is a priceless gift I will act upon, and pass on to my daughter.
This is the Facebook Post I wrote yesterday, the day before the Super Bowl.
"I'm with Kaepernick! I've already taken a knee! I'll stay here too!
Boycott the Super Bowl, the half-time show, and the commercials. (Many influential celebrities, stars and politicians who believe in social justice are supporting the boycott and protest) Watching supports the NFL which has shown its racism. Kaepernick is standing up for racial injustice and violence. If you participate in one thing, you participate in the other. I believe you'll show what you really believe in! Have a good weekend! Do something fun; something just!"
I knew the Super Bowl was coming soon, and found out from my in-laws the other day that it was this Sunday (today). I don't think of such things, because I'm not really a sports person (except for Olympic Women's Beach Volleyball. A very enjoyable sport indeed). But the interesting thing is that I choose to spend hours writing about two athletes because I believed in the social justice they did in the past, and are fighting for now.
The person I wrote about today is Colin Kaepernick, as former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. In a nutshell, what Kaepernick did was start kneeling during the national anthem at games to protest violence and injustice towards people of color. (pic from nydailynews.com)
So the issue now, I've found online, is who is and who is not going to participate in the Super Bowl. Different stars have decided not to play at the half-time show or act in the famous Super Bowl Commercials. The NAACP is encouraging this as well. An actor who supports this boycott is Amy Schumer. A few of the musicians who support the boycott are Rhianna
The socially conscious rapper Common, said to TMZ, "I ain't with supporting the NFL. They don't really support black people. They're not supporting [Colin] Kaepernick. Kaepernick said he's standing up for people who are being shot down, black and brown. The NFL basically blackballed him. They've shown how they feel about us for real. I respect the NFL players, but the owners, man, they ain't shown nothing."
There is much more that will occur in this case Kaepernick is taking up against the NFL for Collusion. I admit there are many details I do not know, although, I can see the basic evidence and hate discrimination and injustice. Before presenting the post I wrote about Kaepernick I'll just lastly, give you a quote from Kaepernick's high profile attorney Mark Geragos given to NBC's Today Show referring to what I mentioned, about Trump's negative response to Kaepernick and other players peaceful protesting against injustice, "The collusion actually was the NFL kowtowing to the president — I think it's clear."
I remembered Trump stating that sports is not a place for politics, but then was reminded with some basic knowledge of simple history by some NPR or MSNBC reporter, that there has been a long history of people in sports taking a stand. I think that minimizes athletes and insults their intelligence, and them as people, when they are made to seem like they are simply there to be mindless entities there to entertain us. But athletes, some of which, are very a smart and insightful people, and are allowed their American right to free speech and protest have mixed sports with politics, usually only as a response to injustice rather than something they incite, which is not wrong either. So I choose two athletes, the other one you can read of later, who have advocated for social justice.
That athlete, whom, I’m sure young people will have heard of, because of his football career, or because of his protest is Colin Kaepernick, who is currently a free agent who last played for the San Francisco 49ers. I of course don’t know who a lot of athletes are until they become big (except for LeBron. I’ll tell you the story some day how I was living in Akron, where LeBron James was from, and I watched him come up as a high school star player), but if they do something that I would be more interested in, I usually hear of it from somewhere. Kaepernick’s very peaceful, very simple and quite subtle protest, said volumes. Since this is about history I will be specifically focusing on issues related to African Americans. I want to focus on African Americans or other minorities, but the platform and issues of justice is more important than the race of the person supporting them.
(pic from usmagazine)
Kaepernick is famous for “Taking a Knee”, which was, instead of standing for the national anthem, he kneeled on one knee to protest against racial injustice and systematic oppression in the country. At this time there were a lot of unarmed black men, and also some women being shot and killed by white police officers. In most cases it could be easily seen in the evidence that the officers were in no danger at all, and sometimes shot extra (overkill). And this happened to very young men (children as well). and these white officers were getting off, receiving verdicts of not guilty. I do have to mention, that even though I haven’t been hearing about as much about this issue in the news lately, I know for a fact it is still happening, and it has been happening a long time before citizens started recording it and more people brought the issue into the open!
Kaepernick is biracial like me. He was born in 1987 in Milwaukie, Wisconsin. His birth father separated from his young mother before he was born and his birth mother put him up for adoption. His family already had two older children. Kaepernick played football at a young age, as well as basketball and baseball. He went to the University of Nevada on a Football scholarship, even though he was known for being a great baseball pitcher and had more scholarship offers to play baseball. Also I found out Kaepernick has been a vegan since 2015.
Now back to his simple protest. At first Kaepernick was sitting down during the playing of the national anthem, to protest the injustice mentioned. In a post-game interview after this he said, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder", referencing a series of events that led to the Black Lives Matter movement and adding that he would continue to protest until he feels like "[the American flag] represents what it's supposed to represent." But it wasn’t until he started the kneeling that he got more attention and it started a wider protest movement. And many celebrities quickly supported his cause like Stevie Wonder, Diddy, Tracee Ellis Ross, John Legend and many others. Colin explained his decision to switch was an attempt to show more respect to former and current U.S. military members, while still protesting during the anthem, after having a conversation with a former NFL player and U.S. military veteran. After the September 2016 police shootings of Terence Crutcher and Keith Lamont Scott, Kaepernick commented publicly on the shootings saying, "this is a perfect example of what this is about". Kaepernick went on to kneel during the anthem prior to every 49ers game that season.
After his national anthem protests, Kaepernick pledged to donate one million dollars to "organizations working in oppressed communities." In 2018, Kaepernick announced that he would make the final $100,000 donation of his "Million Dollar Pledge" in the form of $10,000 donations to charities that would be matched by celebrities.
Also in 2016, Kaepernick founded the "Know Your Rights Camp", an organization which holds free seminars to disadvantaged youths to teach them about self-empowerment, American history and legal rights.
This is an ongoing story and this is a young activist. He wants to play football, but if he is not able to get back in the game I believe he can make a big difference because he has already caught a lot of influential people's attention, as well as regular people like us, and we have shown in history, we can make a difference to.
After I think about what a big deal the NFL, the president, and others who are antagonistic towards justice, have made, I remembered something one of my parents, despite some of their flaws, taught me. My mother taught me to not stand for the national anthem. I don't stand for it, I don't put my hand on my heart. Its for the reasons Colin protests, but its also gender, sexual orientation, and many other social injustices. Many things she taught me I didn't continue to do, but this, and the active protesting she taught me, even participated with me in, is something that continues. My parents, of different races fought through society's racism to find love, which is the highest thing, and then to show and teach me justice, is a priceless gift I will act upon, and pass on to my daughter.
This is the Facebook Post I wrote yesterday, the day before the Super Bowl.
"I'm with Kaepernick! I've already taken a knee! I'll stay here too!
Boycott the Super Bowl, the half-time show, and the commercials. (Many influential celebrities, stars and politicians who believe in social justice are supporting the boycott and protest) Watching supports the NFL which has shown its racism. Kaepernick is standing up for racial injustice and violence. If you participate in one thing, you participate in the other. I believe you'll show what you really believe in! Have a good weekend! Do something fun; something just!"
Comments
Post a Comment