Colin Kaepernick Protest Items to Be Displayed at Smithsonian

Colin Kaeperick’s controversial national anthem protest will have a place in an upcoming Black Lives Matter exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History. A museum curator confirmed the news to USA Today late Friday, saying items related to Kaepernick’s protest are “in line with the museum's larger collecting efforts to document the varied areas of society that have been impacted by the Black Lives Matter movement.” The items to be displayed reportedly include a jersey worn by the quarterback during a San Francisco 49ers game, shoes, and a picture of Kaepernick’s protest. Kaepernick sparked major controversy after he took a knee during the national anthem last summer, declaring that he wouldn’t “stand up” to salute a flag “for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.” The move was met with scorn by some, including Donald Trump, but it triggered a wave of similar protests by other athletes seeking to call attention to racial inequality.