Colin Kapernick took a stand, and many of his colleagues support him because they cannot embrace a flag that supports the unjustified killing of African American men. Colin Kapernick sacrificed his career to make a point, and he has been focused and fierce about his principles. Colin Kapernick, by kneeling, encouraged all of us to stand up for our rights. Colin Kapernick is a hero!
This protest is more, though, than Colin Kapernick. This protest is about police brutality. This is a protest about the fake-Jake way some would bond us together, linking arms and elbows, trying to make a point. There is no point beyond the fact that young Black men who play football, baseball, and basketball see their brothers and cousins on their knees, legs and arms splayed, in the face of oppressive police forces. They freely kneel because others knelt when they were required to, because they were not free.
We can fly this flag all we want to, we can sing melodious songs about “the star spangled banner”. But the flag we fly in the name of sports is a flag that is drenched in blood. Players weren’t required to stand at attention until 2009 because the Department of Defense paid money to make it happen. I’d rather my tax dollar be spent in different ways. I’d rather someone wash the blood out of the flag!
(Julianne Malveaux is an author and economist.)
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