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NFL national anthem ‘standing’ policy highlights decades of protests by black athletes

East St. Louis native Harry Edwards is a renowned sociologist, specializing in sports protest.
Wikimedia Commons
East St. Louis native Harry Edwards is a renowned sociologist, specializing in sports protest.
East St. Louis native Harry Edwards is a renowned sociologist, specializing in sports protest.
Credit Wikimedia Commons
East St. Louis native Harry Edwards is a renowned sociologist, specializing in sports protest.

The NFL on Wednesday announced that it would require players to stand during performances of the national anthem or remain in the locker room.The announcement stems from a protest that former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started in 2016, when he kneeled during the anthem. Other players followed suit.

Protests during sporting events, however, are a decades-long tradition.

One such iconic sports protest occurred during the 1968 Olympics when American medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos denounced racism by raising their gloved hands in a Black Power salute.

Harry Edwards, a prominent sports sociologist and professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, was the driving force behind the 1968 Olympic protest. The native of East St. Louis is also an expert in the history of protesting during sports, particularly by black athletes.

On Thursday’s St. Louis on the Air, we aired an excerpt of a conversation host Don Marsh had with Edwards in February 2017 about historic protests and present-day protests during NFL games.

The excerpt of that conversation follows. The entire conversation is available here.

St. Louis on the Air brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. St. Louis on the Air host Don Marsh and producers Mary EdwardsAlex HeuerEvie Hemphill and Lara Hamdan give you the information you need to make informed decisions and stay in touch with our diverse and vibrant St. Louis region.

Copyright 2021 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.

Alex Heuer joined St. Louis Public Radio in 2012 and is the executive producer of St. Louis on the Air. Alex grew up in the St. Louis area. He began his public radio career as a student reporter at Tri States Public Radio in Macomb, Illinois and worked for a few years at Iowa Public Radio. Alex graduated summa cum laude from Western Illinois University with a degree in history and earned a teaching certificate in 6 - 12th grade social studies. In 2016, he earned a Master of Public Policy Administration with a focus in nonprofit organization management and leadership from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He has won local and national awards for reporting and producing and his stories have been featured nationally on Morning Edition and All Things Considered.