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CHAPTER 1
SILENT
Protest
On September 1, 2016, all eyes were on 49ers
quarterback Colin Kaepernick. At the game a week
earlier, he had sat on the bench during the US
national anthem. This time, he knelt on the sideline.
Kaepernick continued to kneel throughout the
season. He was protesting police brutality against
Black people.
Kaepernick was one of the most promising
quarterbacks in the National Football League
(NFL). Some supported his right to protest, but
he received strong criticism from NFL fans and
owners. Kaepernick was released at the end of the
2016 season. He was no longer in the NFL. But he
continued to advocate against police brutality.
Kaepernick’s protest brought new attention to
the issue of racial injustice in America. For that
moment, he became the face of the Black Lives
Matter movement.
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