Morghan Chambers Makes Some People Uncomfortable
Taking a knee during the anthem still ruffles feathers
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As a volleyball player and student, Morghan Chambers has a lot on her plate. She recently signed with the University of Central Florida, along with her twin sister. Chambers also recently took a knee for racial justice. Like the many athletes who protested before her, she refused to stand during the national anthem. With one selfless act, she once again brought attention to the racial discrimination that Black people experience.
Chambers released a photo along with this quote: “Even if it makes people uncomfortable.”
With a simple tweet, she embodied strength and determination in the face of apathy. As the Black Lives Matter protests fade out of the news headlines, it might seem that many White people are losing interest in kneeling alongside Black athletes. Chambers kneeling in 2021 highlights the different experiences of Black and White people in America. Black people do not have the privilege of becoming complacent or growing weary of fighting against intolerance.
We will not be turned around
or interrupted by intimidation,
because we know our inaction and inertia
will be the inheritance of the next generation.
—“The Hill We Climb,” Amanda Gorman (2021)
America is a nation in search of greatness yet weighed down by its racist past. The country never healed from the antebellum slave era. Jim Crow laws and discriminatory policies ensured that racism kept a seat at the table long after the end of the Civil War. In the modern era, many White people still fight to maintain Confederate statues in public spaces. Their loyalty to a lost cause shows a gap between who America purports to be and who it has been.
Even after witnessing police brutality on video during 2020, many White people hold onto the idea of American exceptionalism. Judging from commentary on social media, some feel uncomfortable seeing Chambers kneeling during the anthem because they are in denial about what the anthem stands for and the crimes this country committed and continues to commit against Black people. Meanwhile, ongoing…
