San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback Colin Kaepernick used his NFL status to bring awareness to the oppression of black people and people of color.
Kaepernick didn’t stand, Friday for the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” to protest the treatment of African-Americans and minorities in the United States, as he told NFL.com after the game. Kaepernick has remained sitting during the anthem “in at least one other preseason game,” according to the site.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick said, according to NFL.com. “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.”
Twitter then went predictably nuts, with at least one 49er’s fan burning Kaepernick’s jersey.
Very few are aware that despite the U.S. being considered the greatest country in the world by many, it is crazy to expect African-American players to stand for “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Why? Because it literally celebrates the murder of African-Americans.
Most do not know this because, only the first verse is ever sung. But check out the end of the third verse and you’ll see why “The Star-Spangled Banner” is not just a musical atrocity, it’s an intellectual and moral one, too:
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Black Westchester
Black Westchester - News With The Black Point Of View is an online news magazine for people of color for Westchester and the Tri- State area of New York at every economic level. Our mission is to promote the concept of “community” through media.
1 comment
He has that right to do what he believes in. You can’t and should not criticize him for following his belief. Until we as African Americans unite and stand together we will alwsys be treated as second class citizens. Our mdn and eomen have gone to war to protect our freedom, yet when they return they are not respected and in some cases not honored. They die at the hands of police just like the others. You can protest without destroying your communities and we must also stop the violence against each other.
Comments are closed.