Kaepernick’s National Anthem Protest Holds A Mirror Up To America

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The revolutionary actions of San Francisco 49ers’ backup Quarterback Colin Kaepernick have produced a tidal wave of malice and scorn from sports spectators and the general public. This was evident in a recent public opinion poll, which was amazingly broken down by Shannon Sharpe. Among those polled, 47 percent opposed the Quarterback’s protest, with just 32 percent supporting his decision to kneel during the National Anthem.

The original intent of the protest was to help project a spotlight onto America’s epidemic of African Americans being unnecessarily killed at an alarming rate by police officers. Again, just recently, helicopter and dash cam video revealed the death of unarmed African-American motorist Terence Crutcher at the hands of Tulsa Officer Betty Shelby. His only crime was pulling off to the side of the road in an attempt to fix his automobile.

Crutcher’s death appeared to harden the Quarterback’s belief in his protest: “This is a perfect example of what this is about.”

Marc Lamont Hill: We Don’t Need Reform, We Need Radical Change

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The writer and intellectual James Baldwin wrote, “Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor.”

Today, Baldwin’s words resonate more than ever. A two-tiered system of justice dividing the powerful and the politically connected and the rest of us only seems to grow by the passing day. This gap is meticulously detailed in Marc Lamont Hill’s latest book, “Nobody: Casualties of America’s War on the Vulnerable from Ferguson to Flint and Beyond.”

In it, the Morehouse College Professor, journalist, CNN political commentator, and VH1 host details how the deaths of unarmed African American victims from Trayvon Martin to Sandra Bland and the residents of Flint, Michigan are victims of a political and economic system that refuses to acknowledge their suffering.

Hill and I recently spoke about his latest work, how it fits into the current news cycle, the revolutionary solutions being proposed by Black Lives Matter, and his new program on VH1.

Kevin Patrick Kelly: Let us talk about the title of your latest book. Who exactly are the “Nobodies”?

Racism Is Part of America’s DNA: Why Did Dylann Roof Burn The Flag?

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There are times when an expatriate says to himself, “maybe I’ve been away too long.” This is one of those times.

The Charleston massacre shocked me and horrified me, but unfortunately it didn’t surprise me … Billy Holiday’s classic, “Strange Fruit” is as valid today as the day it was written. Racism is part of America’s DNA and will be as long as a system/culture that divides humanity into winners and losers holds “losers” in contempt and, through marketing, celebrity worship and mainstream media makes most people feel deep down like losers. In such a system feeling superior to someone, anyone, somehow, is an irreplaceable, psychological crutch. And po’ whites need that crutch more than anyone.

So, Roof’s murdering a group of peaceable African-Americans gathered for Bible study doesn’t surprise me, but seeing a photo of such a white supremacist burning an American flag does surprise me.

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