Jazz, Pelicans, Lakers and Clippers players kneeled during the national anthem last night. Though that protest – against racism, particularly through police brutality – remains powerful, it has lost some resonance in the years since Colin Kaepernick first did it. People have normalized seeing it, and the most effective peaceful protests spark more of a visceral reaction.
So, Jazz star Donovan Mitchell found a new way to capture attention – wearing a bulletproof vest (covered in names of people killed by police) to his game.
Jeremy Christopher:
Donovan Mitchell wearing a bullet proof vest. Send that message 🗣#WholeNewGame pic.twitter.com/5iPtDP6ipv
— Jeremy Christopher (@jchris12_) July 30, 2020
Taylor Rooks of Bleacher Report:
A statement - Donovan Mitchell has a bullet proof vest.
— Taylor Rooks (@TaylorRooks) July 31, 2020
The vest features the name of numerous people killed because of police brutality.
He adds the quote “Am I next?” pic.twitter.com/wUp1QYYNQk
Mitchell:
What a remarkable image – Mitchell arriving to work, listening to headphones, carrying a cup of coffee… and wearing a bulletproof vest.
Black men face a 1 in 1,000 chance of being killed by police during their lifetimes, according to a recent study. That is an incredibly high number! Many more black men have stories of being harassed by police, fearing they’ll be the next statistic.
There are numerous reasons for the problem – from overly intrusive laws to actions of individual police officers and many factors in between. They all should be addressed. First, Americans must recognize the scope of the problem.
Mitchell certainly used his platform well to raise attention to the issue.