In a country built on taking from minorities, from taking Native Americans land to slavery, the oppression of minorities is still a hot topic debated today. The oppression and racism that the black community faces, to this day, is something much of the country has grown tired of. To protest this, something called the black lives matter movement (BLM) has been created. It is a group of people who stand with and for the black community, peacefully protesting the societal wrongdoings against African-Americans.

Recently BLM has begun peacefully protesting the mistreatment of the black community by kneeling during the national anthem during football games. It all started with Colin Kaepernick, the quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers Kaepernick took a knee during a preseason game while the National Anthem was being sung.

His actions sparked a fire within the hearts of Americans. For some, this fire ignited rage towards the people kneeling during the national anthem. For others, this fire ignited an inspiration and gave them a way to get the BLM message across. When Kaepernick took a knee, he got a variety of responses. People began to boo in the crowd, and across the United States people began to talk about how he was disrespecting the country. Other people applauded him for the actions he was taking, and across the United States more and more people began to take a knee during the national anthem.

Kneeling during the national anthem has become an uprising, kids in high school have begun to do it, members of cheer, band, and other NFL football players have also begun. When confronted about his actions, Kaepernick stated that, “I’m not anti-American. I love America. I love people. That’s why I’m doing this. I want to help make America better, and I think having these conversations helps everybody have a better understanding of where everybody is coming from.” During a press conference while visiting China, President Obama, backed up Kaepernick’s actions stating, “I think he cares about some real, legitimate issues that have to be talked about.”

Oppression of minorities in this country is an extremely controversial issue, but the question is, is taking a knee during the national anthem the way to protest this?