Dear Drew Brees,
I saw your interview on Yahoo Finance and you mentioned how you felt as though kneeling during the anthem was a sign of disrespect to the flag. You mentioned that when you look at the flag, you see your two grandfathers who fought in World War II and how they fought to make the country a better place. You may not realize it but there were Black men fighting in that war with the same hopes and dreams. During World War II
and the Olympics, many black soldiers and athletes representing our country were treated like trash. In spite of their contributions, when they returned to the States, they were treated once again as second rate citizens. They were expecting their country to do better.
What you see as disrespect, kneeling during the anthem, I see as a sign letting people know that the country is not lived up to the ideas many have fought for. That we have much work to do which includes addressing police brutality. This cycle of mistreatment continues for black and brown people across America.
This country treats its darker-skinned people as though they have no value. Some might feel it's hard to respect a country that continually shows you that it does not care about you unless it’s for their entertainment. No matter what we do there seems to be no good way to voice what is happening to us. We have peacefully marched so much with very little impact while many of you just look the other way. Kaepernick tried to bring awareness of our pain by kneeling peacefully in protest. The narrative was changed to make it about the flag and that kneeling symbolized giving America and our troops the middle finger. Kneeling is about injustices impacting a segment of the American people and highlighting Police brutality. We worry so much about disrespecting a flag that we overlook that Human beings are systematically abused and killed by police without punishment, without justice.
Until my skin color no longer makes me a target for discrimination and abuse, I will kneel and protest. It's not disrespect, it is fighting for our rights and survival! People say riots aren’t the answer. If America teaches anything it’s the chaos that creates change. For example, after Martin Luther King Jr's assassination and seven days of rioting, the Civil Rights act of 1968 was passed on April 11. I ask this, How can we do this differently", "What can we do for change to occur".
What you see as disrespect, kneeling during the anthem, I see as a sign letting people know that the country is not lived up to the ideas many have fought for. That we have much work to do which includes addressing police brutality. This cycle of mistreatment continues for black and brown people across America.
This country treats its darker-skinned people as though they have no value. Some might feel it's hard to respect a country that continually shows you that it does not care about you unless it’s for their entertainment. No matter what we do there seems to be no good way to voice what is happening to us. We have peacefully marched so much with very little impact while many of you just look the other way. Kaepernick tried to bring awareness of our pain by kneeling peacefully in protest. The narrative was changed to make it about the flag and that kneeling symbolized giving America and our troops the middle finger. Kneeling is about injustices impacting a segment of the American people and highlighting Police brutality. We worry so much about disrespecting a flag that we overlook that Human beings are systematically abused and killed by police without punishment, without justice.
Until my skin color no longer makes me a target for discrimination and abuse, I will kneel and protest. It's not disrespect, it is fighting for our rights and survival! People say riots aren’t the answer. If America teaches anything it’s the chaos that creates change. For example, after Martin Luther King Jr's assassination and seven days of rioting, the Civil Rights act of 1968 was passed on April 11. I ask this, How can we do this differently", "What can we do for change to occur".
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