Cecil Robinson
Staff Writer
cecil.robinson@hawks.shorter.edu
On Aug. 26, NFL player Colin Kaepernick made national headlines when he refused to stand for the national anthem before a pre-season game in an effort to bring awareness to racial injustice and police brutality.
For years, African-American men and women have been treated unjustly by law enforcement officials, but recently, the number of shooting deaths by Caucasian police officers to that of African-American citizens is occurring without punishment.
The shooting death of Terrance Crutcher in September sparked controversy after he was gunned down wrongfully during a situation where he was having car trouble. While the officer responsible for his death is being charged with manslaughter, the sentence isn’t enough to combat the epidemic that continuously arises for people of color.
“I believe that by discussing this matter and not making this a taboo subject, we can overcome this harsh reality that people of color face. Americans can start seeing this issue as a people’s issue instead of a black issue,” said senior psychology major De- marcus Simmons.
While many continue to criticize Kaepernick for his refusal to stand, many still don’t see the wide scope of why he is committed to this protest. It’s not for the fame or to cause tensions within America. Simply, it’s to bring awareness and hopefully eradicate the underlying racism within American culture. African-Americans are tired of being oppressed and judged based solely off of the color of their skin.
In an interview with USA-Toda.com, Kaepernick said he has received over 200 emails that people have sent him in which they have viciously insulted him and made death threats.
“To those that are sending him death threats, they are part of the problem. We’re living between the modern day 30s and 60s; history is slowly but surely repeating itself,” said sophomore biology major Amber Littlejohn.
At some of his recent games, fans will belittle him with chants and name calls in an effort to disparage him, but he said he doesn’t let that affect him.
At the time of his initial protest, Kaepernick was alone in his fight and many thought his demonstration was a ploy for attention. In just a few weeks, his protest has drawn the attention of a wide range of public figures such as U.S. women’s soccer player Megan Rapinoe, his teammate Eric Reid, President Barack Obama and Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall.
The protest has even made its way down to college and high school athletes and students protesting throughout their school campuses and during football games.
“It shows that it takes one person to take a stand,” said Simmons. “We are a genera- tion that is very aware of social injustices, and we are not afraid to address them.”
Although America has a long way to go before it fully comes to terms that not everyone is treated fairly under this nation’s anthem, it is a step in the right direction that Americans are beginning to talk about the issue more.
“As long as we keep talking about it and videos keep coming out, that’s when people will realize that not everyone is treated equally, so with Kaepernick’s stance gaining worldwide attention hopefully this will be a way for future generations to resolve racial conflicts,” said Assistant Director of Resident Life and Student Conduct Anthony Chatmon.
Every day, Americans have the right to choose: either to be on the right side of history, or to continue to let incivility and enclosed racism dictate how their future children will be brought up.
Colin Kaepernick has not turned his back on his nation and its people, but instead
he is making it a topic that America needs to uphold to its constitutional understanding that we are a nation built on liberty and justice for all.
