Archives for February 2022

Colin Kaepernick was born November 3, 1987 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is a Collegiate/NFL quarterback and civil rights activist. He played six seasons for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL) and led them to the Super Bowl in 2013.

Although Colin Kaepernick was a professional quarterback in the NFL he is best known for taking a knee in peaceful protest against police brutality towards people of color.  The peaceful protest originally started with Kaepernick sitting during the anthem, but after having a candid conversation with US Army veteran Nate Boyer, together they found a more respectful way to protest. Taking a knee is respected in various religions, the military and is a sign of injury and/or submission in all sports which reflects African-American’s sentiments towards the treatment of Black people in America.

Kaepernick alongside Eric Reid filed collusion grievances against the NFL league saying they were black listed because of their peaceful protest during the National Anthem at games. Their grievance was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. Kaepernick continues to be an activist for social justice and marginalized communities.

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Although we as a nation celebrate Black History during the month of February, it is worth noting black history has an affect on our lives 365 days of the year.

Without black inventors and social activists, our daily lives would be completely different.

Here is an interpretation of how a day in the life could be perceived which is beautifully articulated by Ms. Perkins to her class.

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Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was born in Tuskegee Alabama. She was an American activist in the civil rights movement who became the face of the bus boycott in Montgomery.

Rosa Parks received national recognition, including the NAACP’s 1979 Spingarn Medal, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal. She became the first woman to “Lie In Honor” in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on October 30th, 2005. The United States Congress recognized her as “The First Lady Of Civil Rights” and “The Mother Of The Freedom Movement” and there’s a posthumous statue in the United States Capitol’s National Statuary Hall to commemorate her legacy.

Approximately 9 months prior to Rosa Parks, Jeanetta Colvin was the first woman to be arrested for sitting in the front section of the bus followed by Aurelia S. Browder a month later. Susie McDonald and Mary Louise Smith were the other 2 of five plaintiffs in the court case of Browder v. Gayle.

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