Colin Kaepernick is a current professional football player who is using his status as a professional athlete to promote activism for the cause of the mistreatment of minorities. Kaepernick, who while playing in the NFL, made the decision to kneel during the national anthem “[he was] not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color” (Greenwood). This shows how he is trying to make a change to how minorities are viewed and treated in today’s society even after all of the so called progress on civil rights. His actions caused other athletes and teams to follow suit, and he garnered support from them, and together, these athletes and teams showed solidarity for their cause. President Trump called for the firing of athletes who kneeled during the national anthem, which brought in the support of other …show more content…
Williams wrote a personal essay in which she “issuing[ed] a passionate call for black women to ‘be fearless’ and demand equality” (Young). It does not matter whether black women are professional tennis players or single moms, there is an unfair pay gap and the only way to make a change is going to be for these women to come together and demand equal pay. However, “Through decades of systematic oppression, black women have been conditioned to think they are less than” (Williams). By being told they are not good enough, black women have not been given the confidence to ask for what they are worth. Williams called for “For every black woman that rises through the ranks to a position of power, there are too many others who are still struggling” (Williams). She points out that it is going to take the work of all, men, women, people of color, and white people to bring about this change. Williams has used her influence as a professional athlete to draw attention to the inequalities faced by women of