Colin Kaepernick.Photo: Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty
Republicans lawmakers in Wisconsin successfully pushed to eraseColin Kaepernickfrom a state celebration for Black History Month, multiple news outlets report.
The legislature’s black caucus initially included the former San Francisco 49ers quarterbackin an annual resolution to honorprominent black figures from Wisconsin, praising the Milwaukee native as an activist “who has sought to raise attention to racial injustice and systemic oppression.”
But Republican lawmakers refused to pass it unless Kaepernick was left off the list,according to CBS Newsand theMilwaukee Journal Sentinel.
State Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke said Republicans would not support Kaepernick’s inclusion for “obvious reasons,” deeming the athlete too polarizing, according to CBS. They objected to another name on the list and said those included should be without controversy.
Democratic Rep. David Crowley, who wrote the resolution, called the move a “slap in the face” and a “textbook example of white privilege.” He pointed to Kaepernick’s donation to a Milwaukee nonprofit in support of area children, theJournal Sentinelreported.
Milwaukee Sen. Lena Taylor, a Democrat, said it is “outrageous” that some Republicans wish to “censor African American legislators.”
“So while we celebrate the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery, evidently the Republicans don’t think the First Amendment rights should be afforded to African Americans,” Taylor said.
The Republicans tried — and failed — this week to pass their own resolution excluding Kaepernick’s name. Later, they added the Black Caucus’s resolution to the agenda but amended it to delete Kaepernick’s name,according to the Associated Press.
That resolution ended up passing 95-0 and moved on to the state Senate, the AP reported, but it now appears to be in limbo. The senate’s two black members have voted against it,according to theJournal Sentinel.
Crowley, one Democrat who supported the amended resolution, said he had “heartburn” over the Republican’s tactic, the AP reported.
“It’s sad,” he said. “What you may despise, we may lift up.”
From the Assembly floor he said, according to theJournal Sentinel: “It is critical for this body to recognize the black caucus and recognize the resolution we put forward. Many of these people that you don’t agree with will still be in the history books that your children and grandchildren will be reading.”
Kaepernick started the#TakeAKnee movementto protest police brutality and racial injustices.
The 31-year-oldbecame the face of Nike’s 30th anniversary “Just Do It"campaign for his efforts to take a stand against racial inequality in the U.S. He started the international protest in August 2016 when heremained seated during the national anthemat the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Later, he opted to take a knee instead.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country thatoppresses black peopleand people of color,“Kaepernick told Steve Wyche of NFL Media.
PresidentDonald Trumphas been one of Kaepernick’s most vocal critics.
source: people.com
