'Agitate'

It has been nearly a decade since Colin Kaepernick began sitting on the bench during the national anthem of NFL preseason games in 2016. That year was also an election year. As Kaepernick's protest evolved from sitting on the bench to kneeling on the sideline, the reasons behind the protest also started to change. Players on other teams joined him by kneeling during the anthem, and the demonstration quickly became a national topic of debate. Many everyday citizens posted photos of themselves kneeling on social media. The protest became increasingly controversial, with some viewing it as a stand against racial injustice, while others saw it as disrespectful to the flag and the military. As a result, the issue became deeply racial, and during a presidential election year, it also became a political issue. How was Kaepernick's protest co-opted and used by political actors to mobilize voters in the 2016 election? Join the conversation and get answers to this question and more on According2Sam episode #426.