Colin Kaepernick and the importance of his message

Dr. Damien Thompson addresses students at Regis University //Rose Ferrie

By: Rose Ferrie, Staff Reporter

For those of you who didn’t know, this past week was Social Justice Week; there were many events pertaining to issues like feminism, anti-hate speech and sustainability. I attended an event regarding police brutality and Black Lives Matter. The Colin Kaepernick talk was a forum to open up the discussion about Black Lives Matter and police brutality, the criminalization of black men and men of color, and what Colin’s actions did for them.

I got to talk to Awah Tilong, the President of BSA, and a few of their members before the conversation to see what their goals were for this event. She said she wanted this to be a space for a productive conversation, for people to speak their truth, and be comfortable to disagree. Minds were not going to be changed in one conversation, maybe not ever, but this was a place to educate and increase apathy.

Once people had settled in, Damien Thompson, faculty advisor of BSA and professor here at Regis, set some ground rules for the night. This was a safe space, speak from the heart without judgement, listen from the heart with no need to agree, don’t rehearse your argument truly listen, be mindful of everyone and let all have a turn to speak.

This program was broken into 3 sections: “speed dating” (fast two person conversations), small group discussion, and a big group discussion. Talking one-on-one with people and asking how they felt about the Kaepernick situation was eye opening. One idea stuck with me and I have continued to ponder it: Did Kaepernick’s kneeling controversy end up distracting people from his initial purpose of raising awareness for police brutality against Black people? He may have had good intentions but his act of kneeling was twisted into a sign disrespect to America and its troops, his purpose was often lost in the media. He was able to disturb millions of Americans weekly Sunday rituals of watching Sunday football, he rocked that boat and started a conversation, just maybe not the one he was hoping for.

The conclusion of the night was that the criminalization of Black boys and men is a serious issue and Colin Kaepernick leveraged his social positioning to make a statement by kneeling during our national anthem. This situation was ostracized from being a peaceful protest for police brutality to disrespecting America and American troops. We are so patriotic that we disregard the racism right in front of us. Racism is rampant and blatantly so in the acts of brutality that affect African American men and boys as well as other men and boys of color. I do not wish to change anyone’s feelings about this situation, the goal of this conversation was not to prove a right or wrong but to get to the root issue: not every American is equal. The importance of what Kaepernick did and what this talk concluded with is that we need to address the attack on boys and men of color. They are being killed because of what they look like by people who should be protecting them. They are Americans and we need to live up to “liberty and justice for all”.

Pepsi Removes Ad After Accusations of Belittling BLM

(Photo: Pepsi Global)

               Martin Luther King Jr.’s Daughter, Bernice King tweeted on Tuesday April 5, “If only Daddy would have known about the power of #Pepsi.” Her tweet was in response to the release of Pepsi’s latest ad which portrays what many interpret to be a mockery of the Black Lives Matter movement.

               The ad shows a number of young people smiling, laughing, and high fiving in the street while holding signs which read “Join the conversation”. It then reveals a line of white policemen standing facing the crowd disapprovingly. Model Kendall Jenner walks airily up to a policeman and hands him a can of Pepsi. The policemen then appear more friendly and the entire crowd begins to fist-pump and become impossibly happy about the success of Jenner’s gesture.

               The image of a mega-rich young thin white woman easing racial tension between protesters and police was, unsurprisingly, not warmly accepted by many. Immediately, people were offended by the ad because it minimized the reality of activism and the seriousness of not only Black Lives Matter, but also past protests and the civil rights movement. Former organizer for BLM, Elle Hearns said the ad “plays down the sacrifices people have historically taken in utilizing protests. That’s just not the reality of our lives. That’s not what it looks like to take bold action.”

               Pepsi took down the ad within 24 hours of posting and released the statement, “Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding. Clearly, we missed the mark and apologize.”

Alanna Shingler Staff Reporter