Sports are one of the most relevant and controversial topics in our country right now. Millions of Americans watch football and basketball season closely. Unfortunately, I am not one of those Americans. The only football I knew growing up was soccer, which is less popular in the United States compared to football and baseball. I was never the girl who followed football season closely and took pride in having a team to defend.
My priorities were focused on taking advantage of every educational opportunity and remaining docile. My African parents spent their life making sure I had a better future in a country where higher education guaranteed a higher income. I am beyond grateful to be an American citizen. Being American guaranteed me freedom of religion, speech, press, petition, and assembly through a vital piece of paper. Not every country around the world has those principles listed in their constitution. Matter of fact, many of them try to control the rights and capability of women. America is great. There are endless job opportunities for those who want to be boundless. We are the best and innovative nation in the world.
Women and children are free to dream and establish goals for those dreams. Like the great Martin Luther King, most of us have a dream and sometimes more than one. My dream is to use my freedom to create a world where justice doesn’t only apply to the dominant society. A free world that fights and supports every individual no matter the color of their skin, or historical background. I want to be able to soak up every element of life my environment didn’t allow me to learn. I don’t ever want to be purposely ignorant.
On September 23rd of 2017, President Trump tweeted about athletes “Taking a Knee” during the national anthem. The movement started gaining public attention during the San Francisco 49ers preseason game. Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid decided to take a knee instead of sitting down during the national anthem. Their actions lead to Kaepernick being fired from the team, which in turn, sparked the beginning of a huge controversy. The movement has been misunderstood as a sign of disrespecting the flag when it is the total opposite of that.
Reid and Kaepernick wanted to show respect to the various victims of police brutality, which is usually centered around minorities. Numerous black men and women have suffered from being harassed and even killed by the police with no further consequences other than a temporary paid leave from the officers. Many people who judge those who participate in the movement are either rich privileged white people and ignorant college students. As a result, they don’t understand what it feels like to be docile and silent for decades. Silence has prevailed on this issue for too long; people are fed up and tired of being harass for simply being black and blessed. I use the word blessed because I am a black woman. I feel blessed to have a voice now thanks to all the activists and historical movements that granted me such right.
In addition, I am alive after all the N words and hostility I had to filter out from ignorant fraternity and sorority girls. I can go on forever about how hard it is to be black, but they will all be interpreted as excuses to be lazy. I choose to be great like America. I choose to use my voice to ensure a better future for the younger generation and to honor all those people who lost their lives trying to create a free and equal world for everyone.
President Trump overlooked the fact that he made people more alert and educated about politics. People are no longer confused on how voting in America works (well the most of us). Thanks to him, we are now more united and informed. The “Take a Knee” movement is simply to show respect to our fallen brothers and sisters who lost their lives through police brutality. The same officers who I am supposed to trust with my life are the ones who are willing to take it away simply because they can get away with it.
America, we are great. We just need to believe that we are great. Be great and ask yourself, “What would you do if the police killed the person you cherish the most, simply because they were an easy target?”.
