Taking A Knee History
Taking a knee became more frequent after then-President Trump criticized the gesture during a rally in September 2017, describing it as a disrespectful act against the United States national anthem and flag, and urging NFL team owners to sack "son of a bitch" players who performed it. Taking the knee has become a widespread global gesture against racism but academics now say its origins date back to the Mesopotamian era. Researchers have been studying the history of the...
American footballer Colin Kaepernick took the knee during the national anthem before a match in 2016. He said he could not stand to show pride in the flag of a country that oppressed black... Explore the origin and legacy of the Take A Knee protest in the NFL, the significance of the more recent athlete boycotts, and the long history of athletes protesting racial injustice in the United States.
Though sitting itself has a long history in the Civil Rights protests, Kaepernick, joined by teammate Eric Reid, made a different gesture in his final preseason game: They took a knee, i.e., knelt down on one knee. It's steeped in the American civil rights movement. Martin Luther King, arguably the most famous civil rights activist of the 1950s and 60s, took the knee in Alabama in 1965 to show solidarity with protestors.
This powerful black lives matter documentary explores the hidden taking a knee history, tracing modern protest back through 400 years of oppression and the foundations of American slavery... The phrase Take a Knee itself has become a way to express solidarity against racial injustice. However, this movement has more of a history to it than Colin Kaepernick waking up one day and deciding he wanted to kneel for the anthem.
Back in 2016 Kaepernick first sat, then began kneeling during the national anthem before games to protest racial injustice and police treatment of black people. Kaepernick said that he could not stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. "Taking a knee" became a wider social phenomenon beyond the sports field and outside of the United States, especially in the wake of actions related to the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.
