MINNEAPOLIS, M.N. — One Minneapolis High School team made national headlines over the weekend after a photo of their protest went viral .
The young women of the South High School Varsity Volleyball team remained united as the entire team took a knee during the National Anthem.
The girl’s volleyball team of Minneapolis South High School taking a knee for injustice in America last night. pic.twitter.com/aT6OkHcl8N
— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) September 16, 2016
Social Justice advocate and writer for The New York Daily News Shaun White gave fame to the silent protest.
Minneapolis South High School is not the first K12 institution to experience this type of silent protest during the games.
USA Today spoke with Minneapolis Public Schools who issued a statement,“We respect our students’ right to freedom of speech as long as their actions do not threaten the safety and security of others.”
In fact, refusal to stand for the national anthem has become a growing trend amongst student athletes around the country.
According to the Star Tribune, several African American football players from Edina high school also took a knee during the national anthem.
The movement originally started with QB Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick a backup QB for the San Francisco 49ner’s started the trend during the preseason, when he made headlines for refusing to stand for the national anthem.
Kaepernick told members of the media in the locker room “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color…to me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
Since then, other NFL players have followed suit in protesting. This includes three players from the Miami Dolphins who took a knee during the national anthem on the 15th anniversary of 9/11.
Preya Samsundar
Preya Samsundar was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. She graduated from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities this Spring with a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology, with a minor in Strategic Communications. Preya has previously worked on several State Campaign Races.