Notions:
- Myth and heroes
- Locations and forms of power
- Notion of progress
Topic : Fight for social equality for the African-American population
Document A : 1968 Olympic Games, Mexico – The Black Power Salute
Document B : Colin Kaepernick kneels during the National Anthem
Document C : Amnesty International Highest Honour for Colin Kaepernick
Myth and heroes : To what extent is social equality a myth?
I. Social equality as a myth
Social equality is endowed by the second paragraph of the US Declaration of Independence. In his famous speech I have a Dream (1963), Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. quoted this paragraph: « We hold this truth to be self-evident, that all men are created equal ». Yet, at the time the Declaration was drafted, men referred to White anglo-Saxon Protestant men and excluded women, African descents and the Native Americans. Although social progress such as the abolition of slavery, the recognition of the Native Americans and the emancipation of women has been secured, racial segregation in the 1960s and more recent civil rights movement such Black Lives Matter indicate that social equality is yet to be achieved.
II. The rising of heroes
The cause supported by Colin Kaepernick in 2013 is the same one fought for by John Carlos and Tommy Smith in 1968.
More heroines : LGBT game-changer Megan Rapinoe, Katherine Johnson, #Metoo movement whistleblower Rose McGowan, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson
III. Recognition but still « Work In Progress »
Smithsonian Museum statue of the Black Power Salute
Presidential Medal to Katherine Johnson
Colin Kaepernick receives Amnesty International’s highest honour and has the support of Nike to express his standpoint.
Locations and forms of power
To what extent are sports venues an effective platform to protest against racism and inequality?
I. Protest as a counter-power against the breach of fundamental rights : equality
II. Sports events with international media coverage attract global attention on inequality. Media as a watchdog, as the fourth realm of democracy. Use of moving images as a powerful tool (1968)
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