Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick was among eight people saluted by Harvard University for contributions to black history and culture
All eight recipients of the prestigious W.E.B. Du Bois Medal were honored in a ceremony held Thursday, October 11, afternoon by the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard “in recognition of their contributions to African and African American culture and the life of the mind.”
As requested by Kaepernick, his speech at the ceremony was not broadcast live (there was a live stream of the event available).
In his speech, Kaepernick encouraged further protests against racial inequality.
I must confess I’m not a football fan; I really don’t know much about the game; I really don’t care about it.
However, I do know a lot about Colin Kaepernick.
I respect the man and agree with the peaceful protest and the message that he’s trying to bring to the forefront by using the platform that he had when he was able to play football.
After being shunned for at least two seasons; after continued pressure from the NFL, after continued disparaging from the occupant of the Oval Office, Kap makes a triumphant return!
In a 49ers’ final preseason game, backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick decided sit on the bench to protest racial inequality and police brutality for the national anthem.
~TAKING A KNEE~
Former Seahawks player and Green Beret Nate Boyer who talked Kap into making the change. Boyer wrote an open letter to Kaepernick and it caused the two to meet up and discuss America and honoring the anthem.
“Soldiers take a knee in front of a fallen brother’s grave, you know, to show respect. When we’re on a patrol, you know, and we go into a security halt, we take a knee, and we pull security.”
It was US Army veteran, Nate Boyer, who suggested to Kaepernick to take a knee as a sign of respect
This is their inspiring story of what can happen when people with different perspectives decide to sit down, have a conversation, and hear each other out.
Kaepernick was the first NFL player to kneel during the national anthem before games in 2016 to protest racial inequality and police brutality. Critics accused the protest of disrespecting the US flag and military and Drumpf called for players who protested during the anthem to be fired.
Nike released a commercial starring Colin Kaepernick on Wednesday, September 5, following this week’s announcement of a partnership between the two that prompted boycott threats as well as criticism from Drumpf.
Nike and Kaepernick posted the commercial on Twitter and YouTube.
The ad, narrated by Kaepernick, showcases various inspirational sports-related stories, including amateur athletes such as a football-playing homecoming queen and an Ironman participant who lost 120 pounds and recovered from a brain tumor. Professional athletes, including Serena Williams, LeBron James, and the Seattle Seahawks’ Shaquem Griffin (whose left hand was amputated when he was young), are also featured.
Kaepernick narrates the ad, which features a wide range of athletes including inspirational amateurs, Serena Williams, and LeBron James.
Kaepernick is shown only in the closing seconds of the commercial, which does not feature the former NFL player in football gear.
~Eric Reid: Why Colin Kaepernick and I Decided to Take a Knee~
RESPECTFUL GESTURE
Sept. 25, 2017
In early 2016, I began paying attention to reports about the incredible number of unarmed black people being killed by the police. The posts on social media deeply disturbed me, but one in particular brought me to tears: the killing of Alton Sterling in my hometown Baton Rouge, La. This could have happened to any of my family members who still live in the area. I felt furious, hurt and hopeless. I wanted to do something, but didn’t know what or how to do it. All I knew for sure is that I wanted it to be as respectful as possible.
A few weeks later, during preseason, my teammate Colin Kaepernick chose to sit on the bench during the national anthem to protest police brutality. To be honest, I didn’t notice at the time, and neither did the news media. It wasn’t until after our third preseason game on Aug. 26, 2016, that his protest gained national attention, and the backlash against him began.
After hours of careful consideration, and even a visit from Nate Boyer, a retired Green Beret and former NFL player, we came to the conclusion that we should kneel, rather than sit, the next day during the anthem as a peaceful protest.
We chose to kneel because it’s a respectful gesture.
I remember thinking our posture was like a flag flown at half-mast to mark a tragedy.
ATHLETE AND ACTIVIST COLIN KAEPERNICK RECEIVES AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL’S AMBASSADOR OF CONSCIENCE AWARD
The Ambassador of Conscience Award celebrates individuals and groups who have furthered the cause of human rights through acts of conscience, confronting injustice and using their talents to inspire others.
The USA is a country where people can freely disrespect the flag using it as a thong, underwear, condom, disposable plates, bras, napkins, etc. but people got a heart attack just because he kneeled down silently and that is so “disrespectful” to the flag.
Really?
Kneeling down is a form of respect and humbling yourself before someone.
The award was officially presented at a ceremony in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on 21 April 2018, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the opening of Amnesty International’s national section in the country.
“The Ambassador of Conscience award celebrates the spirit of activism and exceptional courage, as embodied by Colin Kaepernick. He is an athlete who is now widely recognised for his activism because of his refusal to ignore or accept racial discrimination,” said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
“Just like the Ambassadors of Conscience before him, Colin Kaepernick chooses to speak out and inspire others despite the professional and personal risks. When high profile people choose to take a stand for human rights, it emboldens many others in their struggles against injustice.
Colin Kaepernick’s commitment is all the more remarkable because of the alarming levels of vitriol it has attracted from those in power.”
“I would like to thank Amnesty International for the Ambassador of Conscience Award. But in truth, this is an award that I share with all of the countless people throughout the world combating the human rights violations of police officers, and their uses of oppressive and excessive force.
To quote Malcolm X, when he said that he, ‘will join in with anyone – I don’t care what color you are – as long as you want to change this miserable condition that exists on this earth,’ I am here to join with you all in this battle against police violence,” said Colin Kaepernick.
“While taking a knee is a physical display that challenges the merits of who is excluded from the notion of freedom, liberty, and justice for all, the protest is also rooted in a convergence of my moralistic beliefs, and my love for the people.”
Colin Kaepernick
Colin Kaepernick explained why he sacrificed his career in the NFL to stand against systemic racism as he received Amnesty International’s highest honor.
Amnesty International awarded Colin Kaepernick its Ambassador of Conscience Award on Saturday, April 21, 2018, for his public protest against racial and social injustice.
“The Ambassador of Conscience award celebrates the spirit of activism and exceptional courage, as embodied by Colin Kaepernick,” Salil Shetty, the human rights group’s secretary-general, said in a statement.
“He is an athlete who is now widely recognized for his activism because of his refusal to ignore or accept racial discrimination.”
The award is Amnesty International’s highest honor, according to its website.
Past winners include Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai, U2, Alicia Keys and Ai Weiwei.
Kaepernick was presented with the award at a ceremony in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Kaepernick, a former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, became the subject of controversy when he kneeled during the national anthem before several 2016 NFL preseason and regular-season games in protest of police shootings of African-American men and other social injustices faced by black people in the United States.
Amnesty International gives Colin Kaepernick its Ambassador of Conscience Award
~~Published on Apr 21, 2018~~
Colin Kaepernick knew that taking a stand would negatively impact his football career. He did it anyway.
Today’s NFL News
~~Colin Kaepernick wins Amnesty International top award~~
~~Published on Apr 22, 2018~~
Colin Kaepernick, an American football player who in 2016 started kneeling during the national anthem played before matches in protest against police brutality against African Americans, has been awarded the rights group Amnesty International’s top honour.
The former San Francisco 49ers star was handed the Ambassador of Conscience Award at a ceremony on Saturday in the Dutch capital, Amsterdam, by one time teammate Eric Reid.
Amnesty says the award recognizes “an inspiring contribution to helping human rights”.
John Mellencamp capped off a haunting rendition of his politically charged anthem “Easy Target” with a powerful statement on Thursday’s episode of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
The musician dropped down to one knee and raised a fist into the air as his performance drew to a close.
The track itself, which Mellencamp released on the eve of ‘so-called President’ Drumpf’s inauguration in January 2017, addresses racial inequality and references the Black Lives Matter movement.
The lyrics include:
So Black Lives Matter, who we tryin’ to kid.
Here’s an easy target. Don’t matter, never did.
Crosses burning such a long time ago, 400 years and we still don’t let it go.
Video of Mellencamp’s “Late Show” protest is now going viral, poignantly coming as it did ahead of this Sunday’s Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots.
NFL players have invoked the wrath of Drumpf and the president’s supporters in recent months for following the lead of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in taking a knee during the national anthem before games to protest police brutality and racial injustice.
I feel this is important information about what is happening in the Republican Administration lead by Drumpf and what we need to be aware of. Keith Olbermann series called “The Resistance” continues. He has posted installment #125.
The video speaks for itself.
If this resonates with you, good.
If it doesn’t, just scroll away to the next blog.
Thank you!
DISCLAIMER
I do not own these images.
No intention of taking credit.
If anyone knows the owner of any, please advise and it will be corrected immediately.
The 1968 Olympics Black Power salute was a political demonstration conducted by African-American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos during their medal ceremony at the 1968 Summer Olympics in the Olympic Stadium in Mexico City.
After having won gold and bronze medals, respectively, in the 200 meter running event, they turned on the podium to face their flags, and to hear the American national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner”.
Each athlete raised a black-gloved fist.
FAST-FORWARD TO 2016
“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 told NFL Media in an exclusive interview after the game.
“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.”
~~GRAPHIC SOURCE~~
Courtesy of Mr. Militant Negro
I do not own this image.
No intention of taking credit.
If anyone knows the owner of any, please advise and it will be corrected immediately.
“That big bad dude was a father, that big bad dude was a son, that big bad dude was enrolled at Tulsa Community College just wanting to make us all proud, that big bad dude loved God, that big bad dude was in church singing with all of his flaws every week.”
That big bad dude was 40-year-old Terence Crutcher – a man who raised his hands high above his head in submission before he was shot to death Friday by police in Oklahoma – and those are the words of his twin sister Tiffany, who is now left to plan his funeral service.
In all, a total of four officers and a helicopter responded to reports of an abandoned vehicle blocking the road. One of them pointed a Taser at Crutcher, but it was Tulsa police officer Betty Shelby, the first to arrive on the scene, who fired the single shot.
She pulled the trigger mere seconds after a second squad car arrived, killing the father of four.
For her part, Shelby claimed the victim was reaching into a passenger-side window of her car and that she, an armed officer of the law surrounded by three others and backed up by a police chopper, felt threatened.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has willingly immersed himself into controversy by refusing to stand for the playing of the national anthem in protest of what he deems are wrongdoings against African Americans and minorities in the United States.
He has continued his refusal to stand for the anthem and has explained his reasons why.
“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 told NFL Media in an exclusive interview after the game.
“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.”
He said that he has discussed his feelings with his family and, after months of witnessing some of the civil unrest in the U.S., decided to be more active and involved in rights for black people.
Kaepernick, who is biracial, was adopted and raised by white parents and siblings.
The matter of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump‘s military service (or lack thereof) has surfaced twice so far in this election cycle, first in July 2015 when Trump maligned Sen. John McCain, a POW during the Vietnam War, for being captured, and a second time in July 2016 when he openly feuded with the family of slain U.S. soldier Humayun Khan after Khan’s father, Khizr, criticized Trump during an appearance at the Democratic National Convention.
Eric Reid … Colin Kaepernick
It Is What It Is 