On September 3rd, 2018, Nike revealed that they were making Colin Kaepernick the face of their “Just Do It” 30th anniversary ad campaign. This was met with quite a variety of responses, the most extreme including individuals burning their items and ripping off Nike logos.

 

There’s a wide variety of reasons why people disapprove of Nike’s choice. Most say that Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem was a sign of disrespect, namely to the american flag, our military personal, and this country. They believe that kneeling during the anthem disregards all of the freedoms we are instilled with as citizens of this country, and the freedoms that have been defended by our military.

 

I, however, see Colin Kaepernick as an american citizen who exercised his constitutional right to peacefully protest. I see a concerned citizen who is aware of something wrong happening in this country that he believes can be improved. I see someone who respects this country enough to try to make it a better place. I see someone who knows they have the right to do so.

 

Kaepernick was kneeling for the apparent civil rights issues within this country, and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. As he told NFL media during the 49ers 2016 preseason, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color… 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."

 

I think to understand where Kaepernick is coming from, it’s important to look at the history of African Americans in this country.

 

The undeniable fact is that this country was built on the backs of slaves. Thomas Jefferson himself, the man who wrote “all men are created equal” in 1776, owned over 600 slaves throughout his life. No matter where you lived or what your views were, every free (white) person inherently benefited from slavery. Slavery was so ingrained into our society that the thought of ending it drove our country to a civil war in 1861.  To rephrase that, the thought of treating our fellow men and women as humans instead of property drove our country to a civil war. After the war ended, the enactment of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865 abolished slavery, however, Jim Crow laws continued to terrorize the black community for the next hundred years until the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Today, African Americans continue to face discrimination and racism throughout their lives, whether is be little girls expelled from schools for their hairstyles or an unarmed teenager being shot because he was in a nice neighborhood.

 

We all learned about slavery in school, but I think it helps to bring things into perspective on a personal scale.

 

My mom was born on October 24th, 1963. The Civil Rights Act was signed on July 2nd, 1964. The Civil Rights Act is younger than my mom. My grandma lived more than 30 years of her life before the Civil Rights Act was enacted. I am 132 years older than the Thirteenth Amendment, and only 33 years older than the Civil Rights Act.

 

When people are raised in a society with a certain view, it can be nearly impossible to change their way of thinking, especially with over 200 years of history supporting it. A piece of paper being signed may turn a new point of view into law, but it does nothing to cripple the old view. This way of thinking is then passed on to the next generation, and the next generation, and the next generation.

 

When the history of African Americans in this country is put into the perspective of our lifespan, it isn’t surprising to see what’s happening in this country today. The discrimination of African Americans has been so ingrained in this country that it’s impossible to not be affected by it.

 

This discrimination, and the history behind it, is why Colin Kaepernick felt compelled to take a knee and why Nike is kneeling with him.