A popular Gwinnett County pastor's response to Colin Kaepernick — the professional football player whose pre-game national anthem protests have spurred a country-wide conversation — continues to make waves.
By Tuesday afternoon, a week after the five-minute monologue by 12Stone Church's Kevin Myers was first posted on the church's Facebook page, tt had been viewed more than 200,000 times and shared more than 3,300 times.
"We're going to stand for the flag for the same reason that Colin sits for the flag," Myers told his congregation, relaying a conversation he had with his son and also reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. "... See, I stand for the flag because I'm committed to that very value, to that very pledge. Justice for all. And do we have justice for all? No. Maybe we never will. We probably never have. But when we stand for the flag we're standing together to fight for that. And if we can't stand to go after justice for all, if we can't stand together for that, then what can we stand for?"
Kaepernick, a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, began taking a knee during the national anthem during the NFL preseason. Several other players across the league have since joined him in the protest, which Kaepernick has described like this: "I'm not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color."
12Stone's Facebook post had dozens of comments. Most were supportive of Myers, but not all.
Wrote one woman: "Beautiful message. We are at a critical moment. We must be clear what we stand for and take a stand. These are amazing times."
Wrote another: "You can tell this pastor has no idea what it is like to be African American in this country."
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