Gwen Berry Represents What America Should Be

We all have the right to protest.

As the National Anthem of the United States of America played, Gwen Berry, faced in the opposite direction. Berry came in 3rd place for hammer throwing and had secured her spot on the Olympic team. As she stood on the podium, Berry refused to acknowledge an anthem that is drenched in the blood of African Americans and Indigenous people. Yes, let’s keep it real — the red, white, & blue represents the blood of the enslaved and indigenous people, the white for White Americans, and the blue for the wealthy elite.

When the Constitution was drafted and made the document in which America was founded, there was nothing in the Constitution about the hundreds of thousands of enslaved people toiling for brutal, White masters. My people weren’t a part of the equation neither were women or Indigenous people. The enslaved were viewed as property. Women didn’t have any rights. Indigenous people were considered savages. These groups had no say in the drafting of the Constitution or the forming of the United States.

The national anthem was written in 1814. Again, this song did not consider the enslaved, women, or indigenous people. Yet, for generations after, Americans were expected to stand, salute the flag, and sing the national anthem. When the enslaved, women, and indigenous people did gain their freedom, they were also expected to salute the flag and sing the anthem.

I remember as a child in school each morning we had to stand, place our right hands over our hearts, and pledge allegiance to the flag. We didn’t think twice about doing so. We were children. We didn’t know about the horrors committed against African Americans and Indigenous people. We just did what we were told, what was expected.

Knowledge truly is power. As I came into adulthood, I read more and watched the history of abuse committed against my people. Despite fighting America’s wars, taking care of White people’s homes and children, and working menial jobs for low wages, African Americans were treated like guests who had overstayed their welcome. We were constantly told to “go back to Africa.” Despite the fact that our ancestors had been brought to this country by force and not by choice.

African Americans had to endure separate facilities, schools, and entrances. In many states, laws were enacted to make interracial marriage illegal. Blacks were prevented from moving into majority White neighborhoods and when they did manage to do so, were quickly driven out. My people witnessed their homes firebombed, their churches destroyed, and men in white hoods terrorizing their neighborhoods. Republicans insist that America isn’t a racist country. Sorry, but there’s too much evidence that shows otherwise.

So now, we have Gwen Berry turning her back as the National Anthem played. Republicans are in an uproar. They want Berry barred from participating in the Olympics. However, they overlooked the fact that Berry was within her constitutional rights to do what she did. She has the right to freedom of speech and the right to peacefully protest. Berry didn’t break any laws. The problem was that she was a Black woman who turned her back on a flag that Conservatives wanted her to embrace. Again, sorry but Black people can’t embrace a flag or honor an anthem that continues to remind them that their lives don’t matter.