The difference between a MOMENT and a MOVEMENT is SACRIFICE. Colin Kaepernick has started a MOVEMENT that cannot be ignored or stopped. Kaepernick has brought awareness to issues such as social justice, inequity and the list goes on. Who would have thought that taking a knee in a silent protest would cause so much uproar? This man, Kaepernick, has sacrificed his career to highlight injustices that if resolved, would MAKE AMERICA GREATER. Still a very young man, with many more years to go, he understood where to place his money in his 20’s and has an even better understanding of how to allocate his money in his 30’s and years to come. This affords him the leverage to lead this nonviolent MOVEMENT.
“Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Mr. Kaepernick and others understand that American is GREAT, but there is always room for improvement. Just as our former President engaged and inspired people to run for political office, Mr. Kaepernick has been a symbol of activism and resistance in the face of criticism for doing what??….exercising his rights.
“…whenever a black man cares for his people, empowering them and preaching truth, they will always focus on his mistakes, his flaws, and his contradictions. They want to legitimize his message.” – Malcolm X
Many have tried to change the narrative of this MOVEMENT by saying that he’s disrespecting the veterans and the flag. Mr. Kaepernick has stayed on message and doesn’t allow the distractors to prevent him from pushing forth his cause. For example, when watching professional sports on television, such as football, television stations tend to skip over the playing of the anthem. However, during the height of the MOVEMENT, television stations showed the anthem being played and highlight the players who weren’t standing. Once again, they wanted to talk the MOMENT and NOT the MOVEMENT. To date, most major television networks have spoken about the MOVEMENT.
At EbonyDo, we applaud Mr. Kaepernick for his pivotal stance, that will have its own place in history. It’s unfortunate that having a dialog about these issues aren’t in the interest of most people because CHANGE has never been something we’d like to discuss. But now, we are here and we’re at the table and no longer on the menu.
In closing, let us restated this in a different way,…..A MOMENT is referenced by SYMBOLISM (e.g. kneeling), whereas a MOVEMENT has SUBSTANCE and where there is substance, change is bound to occur. So, “Come get some of this #progress” because we’re not going anywhere.
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Don’t forget to visit us on Instagram and Facebook !!
(Special Shout-out to GQ for making Colin Kaepernick one of the GQ Citizens of the Year)