Colin Kaepernick Fight Against Racial Injustice

The current debate over kneeling or sitting in protest during the national anthem to protest police brutality was ignited by Kaepernick in 2016, and later adopted by many other professional football players, high school athletes, and professional athletes in other sports, all who have refused to stand for the national anthem. These protests have created disagreement and sparked a public conversation race, police brutality, the flag and if the NFL is the best forum for to protest such issue. Colin Kaepernick has since said “he’s not protesting the flag but police brutality against African Americans. www.Procon.org

A big controversial topic going around in the news over the past few weeks has been Colin Kaepernick and his stand to end the hardship for people of color and police brutality in the United States. This silent stand started early this preseason when a number of different events involving people of color and police officers around the United States not getting along. However, this has started to become more publicized as more and more people in the National Football League have been joining in with Colin Kaepernick and taking a knee or sitting during the national anthem. This stand has become way more than a simple silent stand as many people around the nation are starting to voice their opinions on this subject. Even though everyone argues their thoughts on this subject.

Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers quarterback, started much controversy against America when he remained seated for the national anthem during a preseason game against the San Diego Chargers. Kaepernick seems to had developed an enmity against America. He feels that he and fellow African American athletes should not show patriotism to their country because of the unfair treatment their ancestors went through throughout history. Although Kaepernick does have a point about the racial discrimination colored people went through throughout American history, he still has no right to disrespect his country. Kaepernick himself is not black, he is white, but he is just drawing attention to himself.

“The protests during the national anthem started last season when former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the Star-Spangled Banner. Very few players protested the national anthem in Week 10 of the NFL season after the NFL Players Association asked all players to observe a two-minute moment of silence to honor veterans before Veterans Day.” First Paragraph.

This protest started in August of 2016 by an NFL football player named Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid. They both played for the San Francisco 49ers and protested by kneeling during the National Anthem. Everyone present was confused and shocked at why he is doing it. No one ever expected someone out of the blue to begin kneeling during the few moments of unity and paying respects for others. Colin Kaepernick was soon interviewed after the

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. … There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.” Colin Kaepernick

Colin Kaepernick, a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, has created much controversy in the nation over his latest protest. During a preseason football game Kaepernick was photographed sitting during the national anthem (McKirdy). When asked about the action later, Kaepernick explained, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” (Wyche). The nation exploded. Many showed their support for the quarterback, expressing pride in him for “standing up” for the things he believes in. Others displayed their anger with him for disrespecting the flag and all the things the flag represents. After seeing what a backlash his action received, Kaepernick decided to kneel instead of sitting, claiming that his new way of protesting would show more respect for those in the line of duty (Anthem uproar). Although he has the right to protest, sitting during the national anthem is the wrong way to draw attention to a specific cause.

“Civil Disobedience,” by Henry David Thoreau is similar to the point the NFL star Colin Kaepernick is trying to get across. Henry says at the end of his writing The Civil Disobedience “Let Every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward obtaining it,” he is saying if people will start speaking up they will start to take notice what people is actually saying and wanting. NFL star Colin Kaepernick doing national anthem he will take a knee and not stand because of all the Black African Americans that's getting killed. Not just Black African American, but all the innocent that's getting served no justice. Both had spoke out against the governor and that's how Thoreau and Kaepernick are

To begin, not standing for the National Anthem is an ineffective and counterproductive way to promote a cause. It’s not good to be a distraction to your team. Also using your football team as a platform for this kind of protest is not right. Not standing for the National Anthem may be a clear message for some. To others, however, it’s just another

Over a year ago, Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick made the first major protest. Surprisingly, it was not immediately noticed by the media. He simply sat on the benches during the national anthem. Kaepernick made headlines when he sat during the 49ers third preseason game, but he aslo sat during the first two as well, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.

In the article “NFL anthem protests continue with raised fists, T-shirt slogans” provided by CNN, the author Eliott C. McLaughlin talks about how NFL players throughout the nation are coming together and taking a stand by kneeling, to peacefully protest the National Anthem.

“Oh say can you see , by the dawn's early light,...” At a football game, NFL players stand for the national Anthem. However, some NFL players kneeled down and people had been disagreeing about kneeling down during the national anthem. The action of not standing for the national anthem is an appropriate form of silent protest.

Kaepernick’s stunt has managed to influence other people to kneel during the National Anthem as well. Influential enough to become a trending topic even among the people in the White House. The main reason people kneeled according to Steve Wyche, an NFL Media Reporter, was “wrongdoings against African Americans and minorities in the United States”. African Americans were subject to many unjust cruelties such as the Jim Crow laws, lynching, and discrimination. It all started in the 1600s, when the government managed to implement a special racial feeling that would later grow into the legal term racism. The government used that to turn the poor whites and blacks against each other. Before this, the poor whites and blacks lived in peace because

The athletes not standing at the games started back last year with Colin Kaepernick; “then a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers – set off a debate by not standing during the national anthem, in protest of social injustices, shootings by officers and deaths of blacks in police custody”, (Lee & Park, para 1). I believe that if he was to protest this would be the way to do it. Kaepernick was taking a stand for what he believed in without causing any harm to anyone; he was very calm and I think

Colin Kaepernick was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States on November 3, 1987. When he was 4, he moved to Turlock, California with his family. He is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent and activist as well. He was a backup quarterback to Alex Smith and leading the team to their first super bowl appearance since 1994. In 2012, he became the 49er’s starter in the middle of the 2012 season. In 2013, he helped the 49ers reach the NFC championship game. He is called as the leader of the 21st century civil rights movement because he started the trend “take the knee” that becoming a huge controversy over US and started the movement to fight for equality for black and colored people.