Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is finally getting some recognition, as GQ Magazine announces him as their Citizen of the Year. Last year he made headlines for refusing to stand during the national anthem at National Football League games. He is protesting the oppression of black people and people of color, and the police brutality they suffer every day in our country.
When asked why he refused to stand, he replied:
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.
Today Kaepernick continues to protest, even at the cost of his football career.
He has not gone unheard, though, as GQ honors the man who became a movement with a cover story.
Some people were triggered.
Many were quick to suggest others who they felt better deserved recognition - namely, fellow football player JJ Watt or American soldiers
And these are just the relatively nice criticisms. It got ugly out there folks...
But there were other voices, of support and praise.
One veteran recognizes that Kaepernick is fighting for Constitutional values, just as he did, calling the man a true patriot.
Colin Kaepernick will not be silenced.
For the cover story, GQ did an interesting thing. Kaepernick stayed silent while Ava DuVernay, J. Cole, Harry Belafonte and more spoke about him and the importance of his protest.
Ava DuVernay
Filmmaker, Selma, 13th, and 2018's A Wrinkle in Time
I see what he's done as art. I believe that art is seeing the world that doesn't exist. A lot of people excel at creativity—making TV, movies, painting, writing books—but you can be an artist in your own life. Civil rights activists are artists. Athletes are artists. People who imagine something that is not there. I think some folks see his protests, his resistance, as not his work. Not intentional. Not strategic. Not as progressive action. As if this was just a moment that he got caught up in. This was work. This is work that he's doing.
Harry Belafonte
Artist, activist, legend
In my 90th year of life, to see people like Colin Kaepernick having gotten the message and carrying the cause forward is the greatest reward I could ask for. Colin is a remarkable young man. The fact that he spoke out on police brutality against young black men—I thought it was absolutely admirable. I'm prepared to do anything it takes and whatever steps I can to support him if this insanity continues.
Ameer Hasan Loggins
Writer and U.C. Berkeley academic, lecturer, onetime Bay Area hip-hop icon
Colin is just a learned person. If you really sit and talk to him, he is a seeker of knowledge.
His protest has exposed the truth about a lot of people in the NFL, even while he hasn't said anything. I think people underestimate the tactical brilliance involved in that. I understand why people want him to speak out. I understand that. I think they should take the time to understand why he hasn't.
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h/t: GQ Magazine
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