LPA Foundation
Advisor John Hart

Advisor John Hart — LPA Foundation

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U.S. Senator Tim Scott, not Colin Kaepernick, Deserves to be Heard on Race

August 31, 2016

That San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s could capture the nation’s attention by sitting during the National Anthem to protest oppression of minorities says a lot about the state of race relations in America. Compared to Rosa Parks or Martin Luther King Jr., however, Kaepernick’s behavior is protest juvenilia — a youthful and immature outburst over racial injustice.

U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), on the other hand, took on the same issues Kaepernick raised with class, courage and persuasion. In a personal and passionate floor speech last month, Scott recounted his own experience being stopped by police officers:

[T]he vast majority of our law enforcement officers have only two things in mind: protect and serve. But … we do have serious issues that must be resolved. In many cities and towns across the nation, there is a deep divide between the black community and law enforcement. A trust gap, a tension that has been growing for decades. And as a family, one American family, we cannot ignore these issues because while so many officers do good … Some simply do not. I’ve experienced it myself.

Read the full article at Opportunity Lives: U.S. Senator Tim Scott, not Colin Kaepernick, Deserves to be Heard on Race