I’ve started to write about this so many times, and I’ve always felt like I don’t have the right words to talk about it. But I can always write about it again later if I come up with better words. Here’s the deal, I have sung the National Anthem a lot. Literally hundreds of times. And because people know that, I often get asked about my thoughts on people kneeling for the anthem.
I fully support people kneeling for the anthem. As we have seen in the last few weeks (let alone the last few years, decades, centuries), this country has a racism problem. In my experience, it is usually the people who refuse to believe this problem exists who have issues with athletes kneeling for the anthem.
I’ve heard a lot of these “anti-kneeling” arguments… So let me just walk through a few of them.
If your issue with people kneeling for the anthem is that you don’t believe that the Black community should be protesting at all against the violence that is perpetrated against them daily in this country… Then you’re racist, and your opinion means jack shit to me. However, there aren’t many people who will admit to this motivation, so there are a few justifications that are frequently trotted out.
Consider the following.
If your issue with people kneeling for the anthem is that “sports aren’t the time” or “they’re getting paid, they should show some professionalism”… I would argue that your real issue with people kneeling is that you don’t like this protest interrupting your entertainment time. Professional athletes have a platform that most people don’t have, and they are using it. If that makes you feel uncomfortable while you’re trying to watch football… That’s the point.
Also, those Black athletes who are “making so much money, they shouldn’t be complaining” are still profiled, targeted and harassed for being Black. They’re using the platform they have to shine a light on an issue that affects millions of people in this country, particularly communities that they may be a part of. Racism does not differentiate by wealth (though poor communities do suffer additional oppression and violence due to classism, let’s not forget).
If your issue with people kneeling for the anthem is that it’s “disrespectful to the country and the flag”, I would ask you to consider this: Kneeling generally has two connotations, weariness and grief. We take a knee when we’re tired, but too proud to sit down. We take a knee when we’re overwhelmed by grief, to show respect for those we have lost. Many people kneel to pray.
In light of this, I would argue that kneeling is the MOST respectful form of protest. These athletes aren’t turning their back on the flag, they aren’t disrupting the anthem… They’re kneeling. I know it means something different to everyone who participates, but as a symbol I generally interpret it as kneeling in grief for all those people that our flag has NEVER protected.
And if you are angry about that public display of grief, that tells me that you don’t care about all the lives lost under our flag’s “protection”, and you don’t see the way that all those lives lost has made a mockery of everything America SAYS it stands for, you’re more interested in watching a football game.
The anthem itself (setting aside it’s martial history… that’s a different article) describes America as “the land of the free, and the home of the brave”. I have sung those words hundreds of times. But “free” for whom? Not all of us. Not for the huge Black population behind bars, not for the young people who live with the knowledge that any police officer could murder them at any time, for any reason.
For a while now, I have wondered if I should stop singing the anthem. A while meaning like, four years. I’ve gone back and forth on the issue. Now that there are no sports, I guess I don’t have to worry about it for a while. But the last few years it’s really been something I’ve wrestled with, in light of these protests and the changing connotation of the anthem in general.
I kept singing it. But I thought hard about it every time. It became a sort of plea, honestly. That we get more honest about “the free”, and that we really think about who we refer to as “the brave”. All the people for whom existence is resistance, and all the people actively resisting against the status quo (aka racism) that is America… This is the home to so many brave people, we just so often fail to acknowledge them.
I know that I’m speaking from a weird and very privileged place on this issue, and I don’t mean to put words or motivations in anyone’s mouth. People often assume that because I sing the Anthem that I would be offended if people knelt through it, and I just needed to make my position on this clear. I am fully in support of athletes, coaches, fans, hell even the singers kneeling during the anthem.
When it comes to me… I don’t know if I’ll go back to singing the anthem after this, but I certainly don’t think I could sing it from my feet.
Every form of protest and activism possible is necessary in the battle for Black Lives. Kneeling for the anthem is one of many ways that communities are protesting and organizing for change. If you’re interested in learning more about these efforts, or donating your time or resources to this battle, I’ll include a few organizations below.
The Southern Poverty Law Center
The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls
Please feel free to comment other local or national organizations that are good resources, and/or could use support fighting against racial injustice here in the US… I know there’s a lot of great smaller orgs that I’m not aware of, so please shout them out!
Well said Grace! You have inspired me. The next time I’m in the same space as you singing the national anthem I might kneel. Me as a privileged white upper middle class person needs to speak out too. Thanks for adding your voice in so many ways.