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A state senator in Missouri refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance in the state capitol, in an attempt to draw attention to issues of police brutality and social injustice.
State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, a St. Louis Democrat, refused to stand while her colleagues recited the Pledge of Allegiance in the state Capitol. She said her silent protest on the Senate floor was intended to show solidarity with the San Francisco 49ers quarterback.
Kaepernick has kneeled for the National Anthem in protest of police brutality and what he has described as social injustice against minorities in the U.S. Nasheed, who is black, said she wants to call attention to those issues and isn’t “anti-America.” Nasheed’s protest was met with silence in the chamber.
Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, a former GOP candidate for governor who presided over the Senate Wednesday, released a statement calling Nasheed’s protest an “occasion for great sorrow.” He said he worried about “the example she is setting, particularly for our young people.”
Frankly, the only thing the State Senator drew attention to was the fact that she doesn’t pledge allegiance to the United States of America. The Pledge is not a Democrat or Republican tradition, it transcends beyond politics.
If protestors want to make a statement about race relations in America, they should do it in a way that doesn’t disrespect the flag or the Americans who died to protect what it stands for.
