Why Taking a Knee During the National Anthem Should be Allowed

Kneeling during the National Anthem is a very controversial topic in which people are either for it or against it. I believe that we should be allowed to take a knee during the National Anthem to protest against police brutality, racial injustice, and racism in America.

People of color frequently face discrimination involving police solely because they’re of color. They have to deal with people calling the cops on them only because they appear “sketchy” when in reality, they are just trying to mind their own business and live a normal life. There are several videos of police shooting and killing unarmed black men and causing harm to innocent people of color. This is unacceptable. Police should not be above the law yet some of them act like they are in these types of situations. According to an article written by CNN, in America, we keep people who don’t have a sufficient amount of money to pay bail locked up although they have not yet been convicted of a crime. In a study done by the Criminal Justice Policy Program at Harvard Law School, stated that 75% of locked up are serving time for low-level offenses. These are only a few of the injustices people of color face.

According to the same article, while people sit in jail waiting for their trial, they’ll most likely end up losing their job. This will cost them so much. This means that they won’t be able to pay rent or provide for their family. Not only does this happen but the bail system disproportionately affects communities of color. While people are projecting hostility and racial prejudice towards people of color, they are still intensifying the situation of injustice and discrimination that they already face every day, causing the problem to grow even more. Racism is in no way acceptable, regardless if it’s the way you view things. It simply does not justify you treating other races or ethnicities as less than human or degrading them.

While many may agree with me, several others are completely against this belief. Kneeling during the National Anthem is oftentimes misinterpreted. Some people believe that the protest is towards the American flag when in actuality, it’s about fighting against police brutality and racial injustice. They may also believe that it is insulting to the men and women who serve in the military since they are fighting for us and our rights. However, we are only using the rights that they are protecting to express our opinions and, peacefully protesting.

Because of the discrimination and injustice that people of color face, we should be allowed to protest by taking a knee during the National Anthem to raise awareness to fight against racial injustice and police brutality in America. As a society, we should make this topic into something conversational instead of arguing over it and should acknowledge that this is so much more than just disrespecting the flag. It’s about creating and fighting for justice.