The goal of any protest is to create civil unrest and to make society aware of the issues a marginalized group is facing–issues society might not have known of had there not been a public display of discontentment made about them.
When it comes to the “making society aware of issues” effect protests are intended to create, though, I feel the vast majority, due to the unrelenting misrepresentation by the media, failed to see what Colin Kaepernick was trying to bring attention to–systematic racism/white supremacy.
He wasn’t protesting The National Anthem (even though he would have sufficient grounds to do so being that it was written by a slave owner and originally had racist lyrics in it).
He made it very clear that he was protesting white supremacy in the KTVU interview he did right after he initially began taking a knee.
White supremacist media outlets like Fox News have accused Colin and those who support him of protesting everything under the sun except systematic racism. Their reason for doing so: The white supremacists, the ones with real power (for example Rupert Murdochsince we’re touching on Fox News) understand white supremacy needs propaganda to make the public complicit in keeping this power system based on race firmly in place.
The narrative of Colin Kaepernick protesting white supremacy in America doesn’t play in the favor of the dominant society. Because, if that’s the narrative, more people are going to start learning what institutionalized racism looks like. If more people start knowing what it looks like, how it operates, and how, at the end of the day, it harms our country, more people be willing to challenge it.
Recently, Kaepernick signed a deal with Nike to be their spokesman, which has spurred extreme reactions, and, since then, he has been featured in their new presentation advertising their “Just Do It” campaign.
While I’m happy that Kaepernick is getting his money (a man that actually will use it in a constructive way) and while I love seeing the white supremacists so so very butthurt…
…black people (African American Descendants of Slaves) must be careful to not see him getting this contract as some type of victory for our tribe.
We must remember and keep our focus on why Colin was protesting in the first place, and we must continue to study and put in the work needed to challenge white supremacy.
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3 thoughts on “Staying Focused on Why Kaepernick Protested”
I am standing up, clapping and cheering. You did an excellent job on this post of reminding everyone why Kaepernick protested in the first place. It was about time someone did who could actually get the attention of millions that there is indeed, systematic racism and that it is insidious.
I appreciate that. When it comes to white supremacy, like Neely Fuller said, the name of the game is always “deflection.”
I’m glad Kap made this business move because, number one, it has a more long-term payout that playing in the NFL, like so many other black men do, tragically. And, number two, I know he will flip that money and use it for something constructive to combat what he was protesting against, based off his track record. Kap understands Nike is not his friend, but that it’s a business move that makes sense. Living under this system, we have to know how to work it like that.
I appreciate the kind words SHelby, one writer to another. Thank you for all that you do.
I am standing up, clapping and cheering. You did an excellent job on this post of reminding everyone why Kaepernick protested in the first place. It was about time someone did who could actually get the attention of millions that there is indeed, systematic racism and that it is insidious.
Again, great job!
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Shelby,
I appreciate that. When it comes to white supremacy, like Neely Fuller said, the name of the game is always “deflection.”
I’m glad Kap made this business move because, number one, it has a more long-term payout that playing in the NFL, like so many other black men do, tragically. And, number two, I know he will flip that money and use it for something constructive to combat what he was protesting against, based off his track record. Kap understands Nike is not his friend, but that it’s a business move that makes sense. Living under this system, we have to know how to work it like that.
I appreciate the kind words SHelby, one writer to another. Thank you for all that you do.
One Love,
The Stormy Poet
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Thanks for keeping Kap alive. I appreciate your effort in times when we are was it distracted.
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