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.
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.
P!nk took the grand stage at Super Bowl LII to sing the national anthem just before kickoff where she paid homage to her “idol,” Whitney Houston.
This Super Bowl holds a special significance to the Grammy-winning artist as she is a diehard Philadelphia Eagles fan, having spent the lead-up to the game posting snaps of her children and family rooting for the team.
Pink Nails the National Anthem Before Super Bowl LII, Despite the Flu
Despite a well-publicized battle with the flu in the days before Super Bowl LII, Philadelphia-area native Pink positively nailed the National Anthem.
Clad in a satiny white outfit and with bright blonde hair, the three-time Grammy winner was true to her badass image, removing a throat lozenge just before she began singing (and setting off a torrest of Internet memes in the process).
She played loose with the song’s timing, occasionally hitting a note just inside the tempo set by the accompanying orchestra, but hit every note with ease, at times breaking up a note or toying with the phrasing, possibly in an effort to sidestep the challenges of singing with the flu, but her voice was strong and on-point and she had little trouble holding notes.
The plan had been for Vice President Mike Pence to attend the Indianapolis Colts game at which Peyton Manning’s number was to be retired, a gala celebration of the former Colts quarterback’s contributions to Pence’s home state.
The former governor of Indiana and his wife, wearing a Manning No. 18 jersey, left Lucas Oil Stadium after the national anthem, following instructions from Drumpf after a number of San Francisco 49ers players, as they usually do, took a knee during the anthem.
“I asked @VP Pence to leave stadium if any players kneeled,” Drumpf posted on Twitter. “I am proud of him and @SecondLady Karen.”
The first rule of blatant political stunts is not to let on that they are blatant political stunts.
Pence was acting not out of spontaneous patriotism but out of blind loyalty to a president who reduces everyone around him to a sleazy character on a reality TV show.
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 #133.
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.
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball with the foot to score a goal. Unqualified, the word football is understood to refer to whichever form of football is the most popular in the regional context in which the word appears.
~Wikipedia~
I don’t know anything about football. It really doesn’t impress me much.
There’s a bunch of tough guys, placing hands up a player’s behind, shouting numbers, running into each other ending up on a heap of male muscle, increased testosterone and frequent stops.
The only interesting thing nowadays is the #TakeAKnee protest.
By now, all fans and non-fans know about Pence’s costly, fake trip to Indiana. The cost of this charade has been calculated.
It seems like we’ll never know exactly how much it cost taxpayers to have Mike Pence abruptly leave a football game Sunday between the Indianapolis Colts and San Francisco 49ers.
But conservative estimates say it was at least $200,000 – and that’s for the air travel alone.
CNN did a back-of-the-envelope calculation and figured the flight from Las Vegas (where Pence attended a memorial service for the victims of the mass shooting) to Indianapolis and then to Los Angeles for a previously scheduled political event cost at least $242,500. The cost of a flight straight from Las Vegas to Los Angeles would have been around $45,000.
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 #132.
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.
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.
Last night, February 5, Lady Gaga literally took a leap of faith (via some very trustworthy suspension cables) when she opened her Super Bowl Halftime Performance with a riff on patriotic classics.
After her epic (and already-memed) dive towards the stage, our Lady fearlessly sang her anthem, “Born This Way,” resplendent in crystal eye makeup and a glittering ensemble. If ever there was a time for “Yas Gaga,” this was it.
I find it very interesting how, when any event takes place, I like to go back and look for the history behind it.
Why did the event take place?
Colin Kaepernick’s statement is such a situation for me.
I’m not a football fan. I’d never heard of Kaepernick.
I sure know about him now!
I have been following the stories about excessive force in law enforcement events since Trayvon Martin’s death. It really came to my full attention with Michael Brown’s death.
Since then, I’ve been up on follow up events, situations and details.
I followed Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile … many more in between and many after.
I consider myself to be a fair, balanced individual.
There’s no doubt in my mind that these are instances of excessive police force.
Rather than de-escalation, it’s escalation.
It’s more prevalent within the African-American population.
This is the message that Keapernick is trying to bring to the forefront.
Seems to me he’s done a good job at calling attention to this matter.
The Forgotten Verses of “The Star-Spangled Banner”
Do you know all the words to “The Star-Spangled Banner”?
Many people have difficulty memorizing the lyrics of the first verse of this song, which is commonly performed at sports events and other public gatherings. But did you know that there are three additional verses that we almost never hear?
In 1814, the poet and lyricist Francis Scott Key penned the lyrics to “The Star-Spangled Banner,” originally known as “Defense of Fort M’Henry.” During the War of 1812, Key witnessed the attacks on Baltimore and wrote the words based on his experiences this night. These lyrics were printed in local newspapers and set to the tune of an existing song called “Anacreon in Heaven,” and then officially arranged by John Philip Sousa. Key’s famous lyrics entered the world as a broadside ballad, or a song written on a topical subject, and printed for wide distribution.
More than a century later, in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed an executive order designating “The Star-Spangled Banner” as the national anthem, and in 1931, the US Congress confirmed the decision. The tune has kicked off ceremonies of national importance and athletic events ever since.
While the first verse of “The Star-Spangled Banner” is widely known by the American public, the last three verses are generally omitted in performances.
Colin Kaepernick has awakened some serious issues for the caucasian European humans in The United Slave States Of AmeriKKKlan. See, in AmeriKKKa, we The People Of Color, are aware of racism on a daily basis.
We The People Of Color understand there is NO such thing as a “post racial America.” We The People Of Color live racism everyday, no matter what our so called “station” in life happens to be in our minds.
~Mr. Militant Negro~
FOR A FULL AND COMPLETE POST ABOUT THIS, CLICK HERE
It Is What It Is 