Understanding #TakeAKnee - STUDENT ACTIVITIES How Are Athletes Protesting Racial Injustice? - Facing ...

STUDENT ACTIVITIES

Understanding #TakeAKnee

  How Are Athletes Protesting
       Racial Injustice?

GET STARTED
There is a long history in the United States of athletes using their
platform to protest against racial injustice. The activities in these
slides can help you think about the following questions:

   Activity 1: How can athletes influence us?
   Activity 2: What is the symbolism of taking a knee?
   Activity 3: How did the Take A Knee protest begin?
   Activity 4: What has changed since the Take A Knee protest
   began?
   Activity 5: How else have athletes advocated for social
   change?
   Activity 6: What is the history of athletes protesting?

Activity 1: How can athletes
                      influence us?

In your journal, reflect on the following prompt:

   Think of a time when an athlete spoke out about a social cause.
   What was the cause? Did it change how you thought about the
   social cause? Did it change how you thought about the athlete?
   (If you do not follow sports, you can write about an example
   involving another public figure you admire.)

Activity 2: What is the symbolism
                 of taking a knee?

Look at the three images in the New York Times article Kneeling,
Fiercely Debated in the N.F.L., Resonates in Protests.

Reflect:
Why do you think the people in each image are kneeling?

What is one word that you associate with the phrase take a knee?

Activity 2: What is the symbolism
              of taking a knee?

Share the word you associate with the phrase take a knee
with your class.

Reflect:
● What were the common themes among the words?
● Were there any words that surprised you? Why did you
  find them surprising?

Activity 2: What is the symbolism
                 of taking a knee?

Read the following quote from Chad Williams, the chair of the
Department of African and Afro-American Studies at Brandeis
University:

   “Kneeling is both an act of defiance and resistance, but also of
   reverence, of mourning, [of] honoring lives lost.”1

Reflect:
● According to this quote, what is the symbolism of kneeling?
● Why might people choose to kneel as a form of protest?
● Can you think of other types of symbolic actions that people
  use in protests?

                                      1. Kurt Streeter, “Kneeling, Fiercely Debated in the N.F.L., Resonates in
                                      Protests, New York Times, June 5, 2020 (updated August 3, 2020).

Activity 3: How did the Take A Knee
                protest begin?

Read the BBC article Black Lives Matter: Where does 'taking a
knee' come from? Then, read the following quote from Colin
Kaepernick:
   “We protest because we love ourselves and we love our
   people. It was James Baldwin who said, ‘to be black in America
   and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the
   time.’ My question is, why aren’t all people? How can you
   stand for the national anthem of a nation that preaches and
   propagates freedom and justice for all, that is so unjust to so
   many of the people living there? How can you not be in a rage
   when you know that you are always at risk of death in the
   streets or enslavement in the prison system? How can you
   willingly be blind to the truth of systemic racialized injustice?” 1

                                 1. “Colin Kaepernick, Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience (full speech),”
                                 YouTube video, 7:08, posted by Amnesty International, April 25, 2018.

Activity 3: How did the Take A Knee
              protest begin?

Reflect:
● According to Colin Kaepernick, why did he
  decide to kneel during the national anthem?
● What were the different reactions to
  Kaepernick and other athletes taking a knee
  as a form of protest?

Activity 4: What has changed since
       the Take A Knee protest began?

Read the four sources that appear on this slide and the
following slides.

Source 1
In 2016, after Colin Kaepernick began the Take A Knee
Protest, only 28 percent of survey respondents said that
they considered his protest “appropriate.”1

                                   1. Jay Busbee, “Yahoo News/YouGov poll: Majority of Americans now
                                   support NFL players' right to protest,” Yahoo News, June 11, 2020.

Activity 4: What has changed since
       the Take A Knee protest began?

Source 2
In 2017, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote the
following in a letter:
   “We live in a country that can feel very divided. Sports,
   and especially the NFL, brings people together and lets
   them set aside those divisions, at least for a few hours.
   The current dispute over the National Anthem is
   threatening to erode the unifying power of our game,
   and is now dividing us, and our players, from many
   fans across the country.”1

                                  1. “NFL Commissioner: 'Everyone should stand for the national anthem',”
                                  New 5 Media, October 10, 2017.

Activity 4: What has changed since
      the Take A Knee protest began?

Source 3
In 2020, 52 percent of survey respondents agreed that
it is “OK for NFL players to kneel during the national
anthem to protest police killings of African Americans.” 1

                                   1. Jay Busbee, “Yahoo News/YouGov poll: Majority of Americans now
                                  support NFL players' right to protest,” Yahoo News, June 11, 2020.

Activity 4: What has changed since
      the Take A Knee protest began?

Source 4
In 2020, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell issued the
following statement:
   “We, the NFL, condemn racism and the systematic
   oppression of Black People. We, the NFL, admit we were
   wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and
   encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We,
   the NFL, believe Black Lives Matter.”1

                                1. Roger Goodell (@NFL), “We, the NFL, condemn racism and the
                                systematic oppression of Black People,” Twitter, June 5, 2020, 6:31 p.m.

Activity 4: What has changed since
        the Take A Knee protest began?

Reflect:
How as the response to the Take A Knee Protest changed over
time?

Why do you think public opinion has shifted significantly on this
issue?

Activity 4: What has changed since
       the Take A Knee protest began?

Roger Goodell released his statement after the murder of
George Floyd and after pressure from NFL players. Read the
portion of the statement from the NFL players below, or
watch the video in which the players read their statement.

   “On behalf of the National Football League, this is what we,
   the players, would like to hear you state: We, the National
   Football League, condemn racism and the systematic
   oppression of black people. We, the National Football
   League, admit wrong in silencing our players from
   peacefully protesting. We, the National Football League,
   believe Black Lives Matter.”1

                                   “NFL Players Black Lives Matter video,” YouTube video, 1:11, posted by
                                   Scott Silva, June 5, 2020.

Activity 4: What has changed since
       the Take A Knee protest began?

Reflect:
● The NFL players ask the leadership to “admit wrong in
  silencing our players from peacefully protesting.” In
  Roger Goodell’s statement, he states: “We, the NFL,
  admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players
  earlier.” How does Goodell’s alteration to the statement
  change its meaning? What do you think the difference is
  between “silencing” and “not listening”?
● Do you think that a change in public opinion leads to a
  change in action?

Activity 5: How else have athletes
        advocated for social change?

In August 2020 after Jacob Blake was shot by police in
Wisconsin, players in the N.B.A., W.N.B.A, Major League
Baseball, and Major League Soccer decided to boycott a
number of games to protest racial injustice and police
violence.

Read the New York Times article Led by N.B.A., Boycotts
Disrupt Pro Sports in Wake of Blake Shooting.

Activity 5: How else have athletes
        advocated for social change?

Reflect:
● The article states: “Some [athletes] also began to
  question . . . whether providing entertainment through
  basketball was actually diverting public attention away
  from the broader social justice movement.” Do you
  agree with this statement? Why or why not?
● How do you think players deciding to boycott games
  could lead to social change? How do you think athletes
  can raise awareness of an issue among people who
  might otherwise not engage with that issue?

Activity 5: How else have athletes
         advocated for social change?

There is a long history of Black athletes protesting segregation,
racial profiling, police violence, and other forms of racial injustice
in the United States. For instance, African-American Olympic
runners Tommie Smith and John Carlos were stripped of the
medals they won in the 1968 Olympics after raising their fists in
a Black Power salute during the awards ceremony. The year
before, the charismatic heavyweight boxing champion Cassius
Marcellus Clay, Jr., better known as Muhammad Ali, protested
the Vietnam War, refused the draft, and was stripped of his
heavyweight boxing title.

Stream episode 11 of the civil rights documentary Eyes on the
Prize: America’s Civil Rights Movement, Ain't Gonna Shuffle No
More, which documents Ali’s activism and protest.