My twenty something cousin, Calvin, was troubled by what's happening in the #ColinKaepernick public conversation. Here's my response to him.
Hello Cuz,
You should be doing the last minute list to get married. I am so proud of you and your bride.
I know this is disturbing. I truly believe in the right to protest. As uncomfortable as it may be for some, I will stand up for his right not to stand and sing as I do. When I sing, I do so not because my country is perfect but because our principles of democracy allow us to create a more perfect union. Protests, actions, and voting allow us to push America to be all she should be for all Americans.
Slavery was a standard and we were considered 3/5th of a person. But, our ancestors protested and voted for changes. That civil disobedience was uncomfortable and downright dangerous.
There was a time when it was the Republican party that understood our plight and when that changed, most of us became Democrats. This is why your Great Great Uncle James was a Republican. At that time, it was the party of Lincoln that helped us fight a cause of freedom for us and to keep the nation in tact for them.
Look at the date when the National Anthem was written 1814 and over a century later, 1931 adopted by Congress as the national anthem. Now, the plight of our people was not good at either of those times. So, it was not written to include us. We forced this country to live up to its ideals. America is still a young country and we are still helping her grow up. It is why I can support immigration and now understand the civil rights of LBGT. I was so consumed with African Americans that I am ashamed that it took me too long to see what was happening to other groups.
Although, like Langston Hughes, "I Too Sing, America", and enjoy singing the National Anthem and saying the pledge, I am not upset with Colin Kaepernick. Instead, I am proud of his courage to live his conviction in the face of discomfort. Trust me, it will be a sacrifice for him. The man involved in Watergate was restored but the black man who was the janitor and reported the crime was an outcast. We must not fall in that trap of condemning Colin for his poignant protest.
When I was on the school board, my mentor Maxine Smith refused to say the pledge of allegiance. I did not have a problem with it, but she did. When the public tried to attack her I defended her freedom of speech and freedom to not participate. She was a local civil rights icon whose friends were killed in the struggle and her life threaten. Many times she felt abandoned by America.
The anger toward her quickly moved to me because I defended her.
Here we are post a Black President and in 2016 and the reaction to civil disobedience is the same. It is sad to me that a nominee for POTUS invited Colin to go to another country because his belief that America's treatment of all its citizens is not great. But, that same man campaigns how America is not great but he is not on a boat out of the country. Instead, he's running for President. That suggests he is entitled to America, but we are not. Whew!
Do not be over consumed by this. Get married. We'll talk politics another time.
Ron and I have this picture in our den to remind us how we have to pull together to get a piece of this American life. I pray you and your bride will always pull together, too.
#sittingWithColinKaepernick
Love you, Cousin.
