On Thursday, August 25th, there was a town hall meeting at the South Side YMCA Building in metro Chicago. This was not your ordinary town hall meeting due to the fact that several well known names where there including athletes such as Isaiah Thomas and Rojan Rondo. A little while before, Carmelo Anthony, Dwane Wade, Chris Paul, and Lebron James stood in front of thousands and in the viewpoint of million; opening the ESPYs with a call to action. Most recently, a quarterback by the name of Colin Kaepernick responded to why he did not stand during the singing of the national anthem by saying "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." As the summer begins to wind down we can see a rise in the focus on athletes and their social footprints, black athletes specifically. Once again just like any social issue in America, this is not a new phenomenon. Rather, this is something people have been looking for in years and is something we respond positively to. Whether you are an athlete of a musician, or a celebrity of color, if you have prominence you have a responsibility to your people. With their influence comes sacrifice, it just happens to be a sacrifice we have asked them to make time and time again.

One of the reasons the black community has always gained interest in what African American celebrities say on our behalf is based on hope. Nathan McCall, a novelist, spoke on the influence in his book "What's Going On" stating that "he [Ali] reminds us - in this cold hearted, cynical age - they there is still virtue in devoting our lives to causes larger than ourselves." Athletes, musicians, actors alike do become our heroes. We look at these individuals as our connection to the aspects of society that have closed the door on us a long time before. The words they speak do not seem inaudible to those who have the power to change our circumstances. The money they spend giving back to the community gives light to the fact that there is actually a legitimate reason for help, the people actually need it. Celebrities gain this position that enables them to reach places of society's systems the average person cannot even see. We just want them to reach that place with one hand, and stretch the other back in our direction.

So we do love it when the Carmelo Anthony's of the world speak on and to the elected officials, police officers, and advocates that never seem to hear us. We salute when a Colin Kaperneck places a major force such as the NFL in an uncomfortable spot since majority players are black and majority owners are white.

We feel as if they can do it better than us even though they ask that we help as well. But we think this way for good reason. There is a clearer vision of the Game, a west coast rapper, and Snoop Dogg walking a crowd peacefully down the with no harm than that crowd walking down there by themselves without getting shot. Leadership is and has been a main catalyst for change. There is no civil right movement without MLK, there is no Harlem Renaissance without Marcus Garvey; there is no true exodus leader today. And with no main leader in the spotlight we clamor for any other figure that can be close to those from the past.

We are looking for people, or maybe just one person, willing to sacrifice years of their career like Ali or hours, days, weeks, months at a time in a cell. We are also heartbroken when these celebrities come off as not seeing themselves as black or when artist claim they can't relate to the oppression happening in neighborhoods.

For the minority of America, how our peers speaks about us becomes a reflection of how society sees us today. And in return how they speak about us affects how we treat them. It's a tough battle that puts your name, finance, and even life up for discussion. But in a time where every one of our problems comes from the system our heroes are our heroes cause their our only hope. And from recent events it seems they are willing to do so.