High School Students Explain Why They Protest Anthems and Pledges

High School Students Explain Why They Protest Anthems and Pledges

In August, 2016, the National Football League quarterback Colin Kaepernick began sitting, and then kneeling, during the national anthem before games as a protest against racist treatment of black people in the United States. His gestures created a new front in the national conversation about race, policing and patriotism.

His action spread beyond the N.F.L., to soccer fields and basketball courts, and into high schools across the country. In recent weeks, as more players in the N.F.L. have locked arms, taken a knee or raised their fists during the national anthem, some students have again taken similar actions.

We asked high school students to tell us why they sit or kneel during the national anthem or Pledge of Allegiance, or why they stand and recite the words. Here is what they had to say.

Naylah Williams, 17

New York
Knelt during football games this year

My first reaction to seeing Colin Kaepernick kneeling was: Why did he do this? And what does it mean to him? I Googled it, I looked on social media, I talked to my parents. One thing my mom said to me is that I wouldn’t be thinking about this so much if it didn’t mean a lot to me. It was bothering me that I was thinking about not kneeling because it’s one of those things where I can’t sit back and watch everything happen and not say something about it.

In school, we learn about America and why things are the way they are. To take a step back and look at how things are, you can see that something doesn’t add up. The America we learn about in school is about justice and the fundamental rights that this country is built on, including that everyone has the same rights. That’s not happening. People from different races have fought for different rights, and people are not giving them those rights.

There was one football player that approached a few other cheerleaders and me. He told me this is what they wanted to do and why they wanted to do it. I wanted to make sure they weren’t doing it just to follow what N.F.L. players did. I wanted people to see that there is social injustice, racial inequality and police brutality. I didn’t want people to use that as an excuse to make a name for themselves. I wanted them to kneel because they felt in their heart that was the right thing to do.

I was definitely nervous. It’s not easy standing up for something that could cause so much controversy, but when you know it’s right, it makes it easier.Some people were supportive. This one lady came up to me and said I was so inspirational and that she wanted a picture with me. Another lady dropped off flowers for me at school.

There was a lot of hate that went around. Some of the football players received death threats and people saying it was disrespectful to kneel. It went around a lot more than we anticipated. So many other people were posting it. It was getting hundreds of thousands of likes, so a lot of people had a lot to say. The football players were scared. I was scared. We didn’t expect it to get so big, and we didn’t know how to handle it.

The second game I knelt at, there were people in the parking lot with a Confederate flag. It was nauseating. Not many people show up to the games. Going out to the stands and seeing all these people show up, I realized this is bigger than I thought it was going to be. I feel that with time, people will understand. Changing someone’s view on something isn’t easy to do.

I’m happy with it. I’m proud of myself for standing up for something I believe in, even if other people don’t. The people who know why I did it, I want them to know they’re not alone. It’s a lot scarier to do something by yourself than when you have people doing it with you.

Trenton Faulkner, 18

Texas
Always stands for the national anthem

I really choose to stand to show respect to everyone who is in service, who is on duty at the moment. They give so much and they get so little. The national anthem, the pledge, it’s all showing respect to people doing their duty overseas in order for us to have the freedom to protest.

My dad and my brother both served in the army, and I’m trying to go into the Navy SEALs. People coming back from the war and facing personal issues, this probably makes them feel so low.

I know it’s a right whether or not to stand or sit, but overall it’s showing respect to people who are fighting for us. We hardly ever give them anything back. These football players get paid millions of dollars a day to sit on a bench. People who are fighting wars get paid $26,000 a year.

I think the kids kneeling in high schools are following a trend. There are only a few who will actually dedicate their time to this subject. All the kids like to follow the trends. They probably don’t really reason with what they’re doing. They feel like it’s cool to follow along.

It’s an O.K. thing to recognize an issue with race. Some people complain they’re not getting paid as much as someone else or that they’re getting treated wrong because of their race. Maybe the right place to really protest would be D.C. Doing a peaceful march and doing speeches in Washington would be the most beneficial plan for them.

Jahmire Cassanova, 17

New York
Knelt during games this year and last year

At our homecoming in October, one other person in my grade, a person in the grade above me, and I decided to kneel for the national anthem. That was the only time we had the anthem before the game. We all identify as black males. It was a bit interesting that we were the only ones who did it.

A couple of days earlier we had been talking about kneeling for the anthem. It was a natural conversation we were having in response to all the things going on with Colin Kaepernick. Growing up as a black male, and not adhering to stereotypes of what a black male in the U.S. could be, I’ve always been very sensitive to acts that lack equity in the population of black males.

My parents always had conversations about how I should conduct myself based on real-life violence that occurs and based on stereotypes. Would I come home late? Would I take the subway? It has always been an uneasy thing for me to handle, especially when I was younger. It’s a discomfiting feeling to always have to present yourself a certain way, especially when you know the type of person you are and the goals you’re setting for yourself. As I got older, I realized how you are doesn’t matter as much as it should because other individuals can’t tell those things just by looking at you.

When I knelt, on the one hand I felt connected to people who protest against racial inequality and discrimination, but at the same time I felt a disconnect from a number of people in the community at Horace Mann. Not because they weren’t kneeling but because I was, and I wasn’t sure if they shared the same sentiments I do about racial discrimination.

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