The Wisconsin GOP’s decision makes you shake your head and laugh simultaneously.
By now it’s safe to assume that everyone has heard the name “Colin Kaepernick.”
Whether you agree with him or not, the point is that you know who he is. The afro, the intelligence and the willingness to stand up and fight for something in a manner which a majority of people could not.
He’s become a symbol, inspiration and hero to many. And although he’s being blackballed from the NFL gridiron, his work off the field holds more significance.
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But despite all of the positive work that Kap has done, one particular group has deemed him too controversial for, get this, their Black History Month list.
Yes, you read that correctly.
According to Time.com, the Wisconsin GOP has revealed that Colin Kaepernick is too controversial for the Black History Month list.
“Wisconsin Republicans erased any mention of former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick from a resolution recognizing Black History Month on Tuesday, saying he’s too controversial to be included in a list of influential black leaders.”
If this wasn’t so stupid, it would be infuriating. It’s still infuriating, but it’s actually so embarrassing and foolish that you can’t even be mad without laughing.
According to the Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, who is white, Kap was a controversial figure and was left off of the list “for obvious reasons.” The GOP, which is the dominant party in the Wisconsin assembly, doesn’t have a single Black member, and they used their 61 – 34 party line strength to ban Kap from the list.
Wisconsin is the state that backed Obama twice, both in 2008 and 2012, but that shifted to Trump by less than 23,000 votes in 2016. With that in mind, maybe this shouldn’t be that shocking.
The vanilla based Assembly GOP is obviously ignoring what Black History Month is all about, something the state Democrats are furious about.
The chairman of the Legislature’s Black caucus, Rep. David Crowley, walked out of the chamber and told a reporter that black people should have the ability to choose the leaders they want to honor and Kap is “making history.”
He went on to say that removing Kap’s name is a “textbook example of white privilege” and that he shouldn’t need to get permission from white lawmakers to put together a list of black leaders.
Crowley is right, but that won’t change the GOP’s mind, especially in the next two weeks.
