Racial Racism

Athletes all over the U.S have made their decision and have taken a stance on what they believe is right. Colin Kaepernick, a football player who used to play for the San Francisco Forty-Niners back in 2016, has made headlines for kneeling during the national anthem. For him, kneeling during the anthem was a gesture of protesting police brutality and social injustice. Although many people claimed that Kaepernick was being anti-american, he was just practicing his first amendment rights. The New York Times has quoted Kaepernick during a post-game conference where he said,- “Once again, I’m not

The brutality of the police force has been a long worldwide problem, but especially between the years of 2012-2016. Black people are being unjustly beaten and shot in plain sight for doing nothing while being unarmed. Journal of African American Studies “Blacks are viewed as deserving of harsh treatment in the criminal justice system” (482). “Black males with more “Afrocentric” features may receive longer sentences than blacks with less Afrocentric features like lighter skin and straighter hair”(482). Nowadays it is important to know about the police force. It’s important to know our rights as citizens and be careful around cops. Not everybody is good, but not everybody is bad also. In The New York Amsterdam News 21 people were killed by Chicago police in 2008. Entire families were being attacked. They believe it’s because of their skin color and how they are different. The year of racism started off with the world seeing the police murder of Oscar Grant. “The media have pushed people away from hearing the issue of police brutality, and it has fallen off of the radar screen.”(2) “You can’t give in. They will try to make an example out of you, try to break your spirit!”(2) African Americans say do not trust the cops with anything. “They will ruin you.”(2)

Colin Kaepernick sat on the bench while the national anthem played during a preseason game for the San Francisco 49ers. It went unnoticed at first for two games before a photo from Jennifer Lee Chan of Niners Nation showed the quarterback sitting on the bench during the anthem in the 49ers’ third preseason game of 2016. The reasoning behind taking a Knee, Kaepernick told the media he chose to sit to protest the oppression of people of color in the United States and ongoing issues with police brutality. Kaepernick become aware of many of the challenges facing African American males seemed to be growing to an almost daily occurrence, Kaepernick decided to protest social injustice, particularly the killing of unarmed black men by law enforcement agencies. He started

Over the last two years in the United States the African-American people have been fighting a war within our own backyards. The Washington Post reports that since January 2015, the police have shot and killed over 175 young black men ranging from ages 18-29; 24 of them were unarmed. On the flip side 172 young white men were killed, only 18 being unarmed. With these statistics there are similarities in the numbers but, blacks were killed at rates disproportional to their percentage of U.S population (1.Washington Post). Of all unarmed people shot and killed by police in 2015. With 40% being black men make up just 6% of the nation’s populations. In the wake of the killings of Mike Brown, Sandra Bland, Alton Sterling, and many more the world has been made more publicly aware of injustices black people have to handle when dealing with law enforcement. Crime in the black community is nothing new in the black community or should I say black on black crime. There is a bad stereotype that has been put on black people since slavery times that I believe has help fueled the violence between the police and my people.

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.

At the start of the 2016 NFL preseason, Colin Kaepernick, quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, decided to take a seat during the National Anthem. His gesture during the first preseason game went unnoticed until the third preseason game. Many Americans disapproved and were very angry with him because America thinks sitting during the National Anthem is disrespectful to our military and our Nation. In an interview,32 Kaepernick said he was doing this because there is too much racial discrimination and police brutality against blacks. By the last preseason game, Kaepernick was kneeling instead of sitting because he respects the former and current military and he thought sitting was too disrespectful against the military. As the NFL season continues, so does Kaepernick's protest. Americans should be for the National Anthem Protest because the protest is fighting racial discrimination and police brutality.

Colin Kaepernick is an American citizen who plays football for the National Football League, who currently plays for the 49ers. Kaepernick was first ever noticed sitting down during the national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” In the United States, it is typical to be standing, with your hand over your chest, while the national anthem is playing. Typically, the men remove their caps, and the ladies just stand up doing the same. After the game, he was

In the past few months, discussion has risen within the nation over players kneeling during the national anthem at football games. The first to kneel was Colin Kaepernick back in 2016. He wanted to bring attention to the issue of police brutality against people of color throughout the United States. Opposers believe that Kaepernick, and other football players who have followed his lead, have disrespected

The San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback, Colin Kaepernick has been at the center of attention for quite a while now. He is now known for his infamous kneeling or sitting during the National Anthem. He has received both positive and negative feedback regarding his actions. Some may view his actions as right and justifiable, but his actions show nothing but disrespect and a lack of patriotism.

It is said that America is free, all people have equal rights and are treated the same, but when it comes to the lives of black people the same rules should but do not apply. Although African Americans only make up 2% of the U.S. population, they are killed at twice the rate of whites, hispanics and Native Americans, and were 9 times more likely to be killed by police officers in 2015 (Swaine, Laughland, Lartey, McCarthy). Being born black in america means that not only are you more likely to be pulled over by police and hassled, but you are almost 10 times for likely to be shot and murdered by a police officer. ‘Yes, all lives matter, but all lives, white, are not being shot six times the rate of blacks and that’s what we need to be aware of’ (Schwartz).

Police brutality is a major issue in today’s society. Many African Americans tend to avoid the police for that very reason. A campaign was started in 2012 against police brutality and the unfair treating of African Americans entitled, Black Lives Matter. This movement was met with controversy as well as support from the American people. This movement has followed several controversial police brutality cases in the United States including, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, and Sandra Bland. All African American and all killed in the presence of a police officer, with no convictions. These three cases have been some of the biggest cases in the Black Lives Matter campaign. This campaign is determined to make sure that Black lives are treated just as equally as white live and Hispanic lives, because black lives matter

Throughout history, there have been many peaceful protests of issues in an attempt to spark change. From the Montgomery Bus Boycotts to Gandhi’s Salt March, these nonviolent protests have been used to bring attention to problems that people were facing. More recently, in August of 2016, Colin Kaepernick, a player in the NFL for the San Francisco 49er’s, refused to stand for the national anthem during a preseason game. Instead, he knelt, citing “the prevalence of racism and oppression in America as the primary reasons he sat during the playing of the song” (Stepman). This created a huge controversy, angering many who believed that he was disrespecting the flag, the United States of America, and the Armed Forces by not standing. However, his protest is incredibly effective and showed that he was a real man. Kaepernick was brave enough to take a stand despite the hate and scrutiny that he knew that he would face, used his right to choose to protest, and started a conversation about important topics

Colin Kaepernick, the quarterback for the San Francisco 49s started sitting during the national anthem to protest against African American people and minorities in the United Sates. Kaepernick has played in 57 regular season NFL games since 2011-2015 and why has he just started kneeling in 2016? Many Americans are looking at this movement in terms of black and whites and not in terms of athletes.

Jackie Robinson, Joe Louis, and Hank Greenberg all faced some sort of racism during their lives and their professional careers. Racism was found in every sport between the 1930s and the 1950s. Some sports hid the racism better than the others did. The role of racism and ethnicity in American sport did not change significantly between the 1930s and the 1950s.

At the start of the 2016 NFL preseason, quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, Colin Kaepernick chose to take a seat during the playing of the National Anthem. This went unnoticed during the first preseason game, but by the third it started to gain national attention. Many Americans disapproved and were angered because sitting during the National Anthem is seen as disrespectful to our military and our nation. In an interview conducted by Clark Mindock of the Independent, Kaepernick said he was doing this because of the continuing racial discrimination and police brutality against African-Americans. By the last preseason game, Kaepernick chose to kneel instead of sitting because he respects the former and current military and thought sitting was disrespectful. As the NFL season continued, so did Kaepernick's protest.