Recently bestowed with the Human Rights Award by the Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill, New York, Nobel Laureate Jody Williams has a long track record of consistency and resilience in fighting for what she believes is right.
At this point, Colin Kaepernicks career is being martyred while the NFL simultaneously attempts to usurp power and influence by football players looking to continue protesting.
Williams, the third American woman in history to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for her work to ban landmines, recently told CBS News’ Face The Nation how she REALLY feels about Kaps protest and American-style racism.
“The seeming inability of this country to deal with racism in general, but in particular, the police brutality against primarily black men,” she said. “There certainly has been violence against black women but the killings of black men have been very, very disturbing to many people. I think [they] helped spark the Black Lives Matter movement.
“So when Kaepernick decided to use his fame to take a knee, and by doing so, make a public statement about the need to deal with this, I thought it was outstanding, personally.”
“And when others joined him, it I think was a pivotal moment in race issues in the country. We may not see a dramatic change immediately, but that Kaepernick took a knee, and then other black athletes and white athletes joined in in their own way and found the support of the team owners, etc. — it reminds me of the chain of people protesting apartheid outside of the South African Embassy. You know, the impact of doing it again and again and again, famous people and not-so-famous people it does make a difference.”
