DALLAS COUNTY, Texas — Many Caucasians believe that NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the National Anthem before football games is an affront and insult to military vets who sacrifice their lives for his freedom. This latest story flies in the face of that faulty line of thinking.
A white military veteran kneeled during the national anthem during a high school volleyball game, draped in a Black Lives Matter t-shirt, after a couple of Dallas area high school teams were bombarded with hate for kneeling during the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner.
On Friday night, cheerleaders for the DeSoto and Cedar Hill high schools’ football teams knelt during the national anthem before the game between their two schools to protest the treatment of people of color in the United States. What’s more, on Tuesday, the DeSoto girls’ volleyball team took a knee during the national anthem at one of their games as well.
Because of the extreme blowback the kids enduring, Albert Woolum, a white Navy veteran, could not stand back as he witnessed abuse that the girls suffered and knew he had to act.
Woolum decided to appear at the very next volleyball game, not only to show his support but also to participate in their protest. During the national anthem, he took a knee, and he spent the entire game in a Black Lives Matter tee shirt.
Woolum rationalized his actions to the media: “The decision they made to kneel at their last game, they caught a lot of flak for that. I saw that on the news. I looked when their next game was, and I came to support them to let them know somebody in the white community cares.”
Navy Veteran and grandfather, Al Woolum, took a knee and wore a #BlackLivesMatter t-shirt at a recent high school girl’s volleyball game. pic.twitter.com/gsWWgK5j71
— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) September 25, 2016
That is a key statement. He had to say “to let them know somebody in the white community cares” because most in the white community do not care. From many blacks’ perspectives, they believe whites just want blacks to shut up and suffer in silence and accept the status quo of their second-class citizenship and to simply entertain whites at their request.
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