A Negro’s Life Is Worth More Than A Football Game.

DOI Principles/Founding Fathers.

“Fellow Citizens, I am not wanting in respect for the fathers of this republic. The signers of the Declaration of Independence were brave men. They were great men, too-great enough to give frame to a great age.”

Mr.  Douglass was fully participating in celebrating July 4th.  Mr. Douglass dedicates 13 pages of Oration to making clear both his unwavering support for the governing principles enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and his profound respect for the Founding Fathers’ ideals and fight for these ideals in the American Revolution.  He also states Blacks fought and died in this same American Revolution along-side whites.[xi]

Dissent Is An American Tradition
The United States was founded by an act of violent treason under British law.  Indeed in 1850, an American maxim was “resistance to tyrants was obedience to God.”[xii]   Mr. Douglass reviews the founding fathers’ acts of dissent in Oration.   Today’s scandal shows the issues of who can dissent and of America’s resistance to Black dissent regarding racism are still problems.  Obviously some old white men think only they can dissent. For example, the NFL owners’ act of implementing a policy prohibiting public protest enforced with the punishment of a fine is in itself an act of dissent against the players.

Similarities: Context, Action, Message and Forum.
The NFL players’ kneeling and Mr. Douglass’ Oration have the following similarities: (1) context within national celebrations of the American Revolution and its principals.  Both the Fourth of July and the national anthem are national rituals celebrating the nation’s anniversary and independence;  (2) actions of free speech expressing dissent and protest done with respect for the Country.  Mr. Douglass dedicates a third of Oration to the accomplishments of the founding fathers and of white and Black Americans who fought for this country and its promises of liberty, equality before the law and society, pursuit of happiness, and political and religious freedom.  It is my understanding the players bent their knees in an attempt to show respect for the Flag and this nation’s great history and people while expressing their constitutional right to free speech in protest against “unnatural burdens and impediments with which American customs and American legislation have hindered Black progress and improvement”[xiii]; (3) Both Oration and the players’ kneeling meant to convey messages protesting “gross injustice and cruelty to which he [American Negro/ Black] is a constant victim” including police brutality, inequalities in laws, education and economic opportunities[xiv]. As in 1850, American legislation and society ratified the police power to hunt, arrest, maim and kill Blacks.  That power today is also “an institution of the United States” and “is co-extensive with the star-spangled banner”; and (4) forum of a public stage for the purposes of bringing the message to the greater public to foster national discussion and action.  Both Mr. Douglass and the players intended for their message to be publicly displayed. Mr. Douglass read Oration at a public meeting for the purpose of spreading his message, and the discourse was published in print for public dissemination.  The players knelt on the modern stage of television in front of the entire world and the owners. Their actions could not be ignored by white America.

Given these similarities, their actions squarely fit within Douglass’ and the abolitionists’ celebrated method of protest during national rituals paying homage to the American revolution and the founding principles of this country. Its funny how Mr. Douglass’ Oration will be read in New England this July 5th, but Black men acting on these ideas still scare those against free Black rights.

The NFL Players’ Kneeling Was Not The Act Of Uneducated Hoodlums.
The NFL players are educated men who hopefully learned something besides football plays while in college. (much to the tears of the owners.) Given they went to college, they were likely exposed to ideas of expression, dissent, liberty, equality, etc. Their actions echo the actions of Frederick Douglass and other great abolitionists. They are neither government employees who took an oath nor persons upon whose job rests national security. There is no constitutional reason to exempt them from exercising free speech. They are grown men with thoughts, opinions and educations. The NFL and the American public needs to accept that about all athletes actually.

The Players Are Within The Class Of Person Who Are Potential Victims Of Police Brutality To Point Where It Is Appropriate To Protest The Issue On A National Stage.
The players are subject to police brutality and arrest as soon as they leave the field. It is not a concern which stops and starts at the whim of the NFL owners or public. Black men are especially at risk of murder at police hands. This is truly a life and death issue. It is way more important than a football game.

Final.
We may disagree regarding the rightness or wrongness of the players’ actions. But there is absolutely no way that their kneeling can be characterized as unAmerican, unpatriotic, low-brow hoodlum behavior, or even inappropriate given the state of race and racism in this country. Their actions are supported by celebrated and taught American historical and political precedence. As in Oration public performance of the protest is a critical component of their protest. The owners’ attempts to place it in the locker room away from the public eye negates the very point of their protest- to bring it to the national discussion.

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