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