Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who was chased out of the league for daring to kneel during the national anthem. He foresaw a backward tailspin, which is now a hurricane force wind under Donald Trump.
Trump now stands against those who voted for him, those who didn’t vote at all, those who didn’t want any woman telling them what to do.
Many of those who made the mistake of voting for him are sorry now because their groceries didn’t go down, the gasoline didn’t get cheaper, the hatred didn’t lessen, and voting didn’t get what are we going to do about it?
What are we going to do about it?
We can follow Kaepernick’s lead and kneel during the national anthem. We can stand and sing the Black national anthem at all events.
We can celebrate our own people — many of whom lost their jobs or lives while fighting for the right to speak out as Joy Ann Reid did. MSNBC fired Reid after five years with the cable network and canceled her program, The ReidOut. MSNBC also fired Black host Alex Wagner and cut Alex Wagner Tonight.
We must now celebrate our heroes and ‘sheroes,’ as they face unfair terminations.
Don’t forget to honor our fathers, uncles, brothers, sisters, spouses, cousins, friends who tried their best to make America great for all of us. Don’t forget the Tuskegee Airmen and the people of color who still serve in many ways for an ungrateful nation.
Gen. Charles Brown, 21st chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was dismissed without cause. Gen. Colin Powell served as the first Black chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the second Bush administration. The haters said “enough” when it came to another Black military chief, yet many of our people still serve our country admirably without respect.
We can moan and groan, but that doesn’t make things better. We must stand up against racists and fascists. The lives of many government workers, farmers and others, many of whom voted for Trump, have been devastated.
Still, they don’t deserve what’s happening to them. People with disabilities, children, seniors, the poor without jobs don’t deserve what is happening.
We must continue to stand up and fight.
Let’s continue the “Buycott,’ and do business only with those who respect our human rights. No matter how much we like certain brands, do not let the companies that produce them ignore their responsibility for giving back a part of their profits and hiring our people.
If they do not, don’t take disrespect and drop them.
My dear Mother taught her children that “God don’t like ugly.”
It’s ugly to always be the taker — and never the giver. As the late Black radio icon Joe Madison always asked, “What are you going to do about it?”
E. Faye Williams is president of The Dick Gregory Society (www.thedickgregorysociety.org).