Back in 2016, then-quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem in protest against racism and police brutality. Kaepernick started a short-lived movement dividing much of the country, but it started to lose steam after high-profile figures like President Trump called it out as unpatriotic. Copycat anthem protests became a routine occurrence in the NFL and among student athletes across the country. The NFL was losing money after many began to boycott the league. In response, they issued a new policy last May, in which teams are fined if players on the field kneel during the anthem. Some colleges, such as East Carolina University and Colorado Christian University, also banned the disrespectful protest.
Suddenly, protests virtually disappeared, and the media stopped talking about it. Perhaps they realized the protests were ineffective at accomplishing the change they desired.
Still, some college students have tried to leverage the controversial tactic to attract attention to their own racial-based causes.
In November, more than 100 Notre Dame students knelt on the benches of the stadium during a football game against Florida State University, with student organizers framing it as a faith-based protest against police brutality and racial injustice, rather than just a “liberal act.” The organizers originally said they hoped to start a conversation, but aside from the press attention they received that week, have they really achieved anything substantial, other than co-opting Christianity into a religion of social justice?
All signs point to “no.”
Alyssa Parker, an African-American cheerleader at Buena Vista University in Iowa resigned from the cheer team and transferred to a different college after her college banned kneeling during the anthem. “For me, it’s not over,” Parker said to Inside Higher Ed. “The problem is still here. The problem with protests and with people in our society is that they’re outraged for a second and then it dies down. You have to be consistent with your outrage; if you’re not consistent, you can’t expect change.”
It’s completely normal for issues to cause outrage, but in this case, the outrage is horribly misguided. Injustice can be found anywhere, at any given time. It’s not unique to black Americans, and it’s not the fault of the American flag and values.
The most recent anthem protest at Ole Miss last Saturday is a perfect example. In response to a pro-Confederate demonstration happening that same day, eight Ole Miss men’s college basketball players took a knee during the national anthem prior to their game against Georgia. It seems like it would make more sense to honor the flag that defeated the Confederacy, rather than dishonor the flag as the original Confederates once did.
Instead of expressing outrage at the rare cases of police brutality against black Americans, why not celebrate the progress they have made and the opportunities they have found during the Trump administration, such as record-low African-American unemployment rates and poverty levels? The administration has also encouraged businesses to invest in economically distressed communities to advance prosperity among black Americans.
The #TakeAKnee movement may live on in academia, but it’s effects remain ineffective and fruitless. Dialogue is the only way to start an enduring conversation about injustice — not silent, attention-seeking protests against the anthem.
Brendan Pringle (@BrendanPringle) is writer from California. He is a National Journalism Center graduate and formerly served as a development officer for Young America’s Foundation at the Reagan Ranch.
