"What should horrify Americans is not Kaepernick's choice to remain seated during the national anthem, but that nearly 50 years after Ali was banned from boxing for his stance and Tommie Smith and John Carlos's raised fists caused public ostracization and numerous death threats, we still need to call attention to the same racial inequities. Failure to fix this problem is what's really un-American here."—Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, in a terrific essay for the Washington Post about San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's choice to not stand during the national anthem, because "There are a lot of things that are going on that are unjust [that] people aren't being held accountable for. And that's something that needs to change. That's something that this country stands for—freedom, liberty, justice for all. And it's not happening for all right now."
Shaker Charlotte tweeted yesterday, which I am sharing here with her permission, a perfect comment on the policing of Colin Kaepernick's protest:
White people: "Black people should protest peacefully!"
— Charlotte. (@charlotteirene8) August 31, 2016
*Black person sits quietly during national anthem*
White people: "No not like that."
If that doesn't sum it up, welp.
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