The Impact of Taking a Knee

The assignment is based on an essay by Chanda Prescod- Weinstein discussing the performative act of taking a knee and its relation to black lives matter. The essay highlights how taking a knee as a trend may have a negative impact if it does not address the root cause of racism and anti-native colonialism in science and academia. It emphasizes the need for barrier breakers like black scientists who should speak up against these injustices, risking their careers for the purpose of creating change.

Running head: PRESCOD- WEINSTEIN ESSAY
PRESCOD- WEINSTEIN ESSAY
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Question 1
The given essay by Chanda Prescod- Weinstein states that the path to becoming an
academic is a difficult one. Football is just like academia and people who are in important
positions deserve and expect to receive respect and cultural compliance. Colin Kaepernick
broke cultural rules when he decided to sit down during the national anthem in August 2016,
for which the National Football League of America (NFL) punished him and his career was
destroyed. However, Kaepernick was successful in putting forward his point that more people
should pay attention to the police brutality and anti-black trend faced by the black people in
America. Many players joined him in the trend of taking a knee and even people who
previously supported Donald Trump (Roger Goodell and Robert Kraft), openly expressed
their dissatisfaction and disappointment in Trump. The act of taking a knee soon became a
form of protest against trump and even scientists took this opportunity to let their opinion on
Trump be known. The scientists may not experience the same level of impact on the field of
science as was in the case of Kaepernick for football. Nonetheless, it would still be enough to
raise awareness for the participation and training of black scientists in science. The author
states that fighting against injustices like racism and anti-native colonialism are important to
encourage black scientists to participate more in research work, as science affects humanity
as a whole and every individual’s contribution is necessary.
Question 2
The author states that football like academia is ‘a culture of hierarchy’. According to
this statement, the author is trying to explain that in the fields of science and football, the
power is distributed in a pyramid structure, where people who are at a superior (or
higher/powerful) position would demand respect and cultural compliance.

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Question 3
According to the author Prescod-Weinstein, Colin Kaepernick broke a significant
cultural rule by taking a knee during the national anthem. By doing so, he went against what
the rest of the team was doing and disobeyed what the league told him to do, leading to the
violation of ‘a significant cultural rule’.
Question 4
As Colin Kaepernick challenged people in ‘positions of superiority’ and defied
‘cultural conformity’, the National Football League (NFL) destroyed his career as a form of
punishment (Prescod-Weinstein).
Question 5
Colin Kaepernick was for his position as an internationally televised quarterback of
the NFL. He wanted to use his position in a way that makes it possible to gain the attention of
the white American viewers to get to know of the reality and problems faced by him for
being a black American man. Instead of celebrating America, Kaepernick decided to take a
knee during the national anthem, demanding more attention from the viewers to tackle
problems relating to the police brutality and anti-black sentiments faced by black Americans.
Thus, Kaepernick uses the act of taking a knee as a form of cultural resistance by this way.
Question 6
According to the statement ‘Once it became apparent that taking a knee could be just
another protest against Trump, suddenly lots of folks were doing it’, the author says that
when people got to know that ‘taking a knee’ was a form of protest against Donald Trump, a
lot of people started doing it. It is due to this reason, the scientists too wanted to make their

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opposition against Trump be known and took this opportunity of taking a knee to portray
their disapproval of Trump’s agenda.
Question 7
In the given essay, the author empathizes with the situation Colin Kaepernick found
himself in. This is because the author is aware that Kaepernick was ready to risk everything
he had worked hard for since the issue of ‘Black Lives Matter’ was that much important to
him. In a similar way, the author too faced lots of resistance when she tried to bring about a
change in science. This even required the author to be straightforward while addressing the
public in ways that put her own career and development at risk. Thus, the author emphasizes
with Kaepernick’s situation because she knows that the only way meaningful change could
take place was by taking risks.
Question 8
The author, Prescod-Weinstein believes that #ScientistsTakeAKnee would not have
the same impact on science that Kaepernick had on football. According to the author, this is
due to the reason that no deeply embedded beliefs regarding the status quo are being
challenged by the scientists. Unlike Kaepernick disrupting the usual business of the NFL, the
scientists taking a knee do not disrupt the business at all. The scientists taking a knee is a
show of unity, however, no meaningful step had been taken to actually ensure that ‘Black
Lives Matter’. Although participating in the performance of taking a knee may provide
comfort to people, the scientists need to contribute more instead of taking pictures during
their coffee breaks at work. The act of taking a knee is not just a performance, but needs to
send a message regarding its cause and only doing so may allow the scientists to have an
impact on academia regarding this issue.

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Question 9
The author in her essay states that taking a knee is a performative act rather than a
substantive one. This is due to the reason that taking a knee had become a popular trend
which united and brought forward many individuals, players, owners of clubs and others to
take part in the act. However, no substantial measures were taken to ensure the cause of
‘Black Lives Matter’, and the people were treating the act of taking a knee as a trend or
performance.
Question 10
The author Prescod-Weinstein, through the given essay states that black scientists are
more than scientists and they are barrier breakers. In order to gain a respectful position in the
world, they must take risks and oppose racism in the scientific community. The author states
that when she demands that the professional societies to assist her in speaking up about the
injustices of anti-native colonialism and racism, she is ignored by others and is labeled an
organizational enemy for voicing out her opinion. It is due to this reason the author states that
as she sends out faculty applications, she expects the job committees would look at her role
of an activist as a weakness instead of strength, assuming that it would not have a positive
impact on her research or their department. This is the way in which activism on job may
affect the career advancements and opportunities of the author.
Question 11
According to the given statement, the author states that just as Kaepernick did in case
of football, the black scientists too need to put themselves at risk if they wish to gain a
favorable position in the world. Black scientists are more than scientists and are considered as
‘barrier breakers’ by the author, and they need to speak up about racism, anti native

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colonialism and all other forms of harassment/brutality faced by the black people in order to
gain success in the campaign of ‘Black Lives Matter’ (Hoffman, et al.).
Question 12
The author, Prescod-Weinstein concludes her article stating that
#ScientistsTakeAKnee would have an actual impact if it were to start a movement against the
present condition of the state of affairs and would have a positive impact in the fight against
racism (Taylor, Keeanga-Yamahtta).
The author states that the act of taking a knee may be able to offend the white
supremacist president and please the allies, however, it would have no positive impact on her
and others like her, who are risking their careers for this purpose. According to the author, the
act of taking a knee was a symbol for Kaepernick, but the scientific community requires
something more than symbolism, as it is not enough for the cause.

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References
Hoffman, Louis, et al. "An existential–humanistic perspective on black lives matter and
contemporary protest movements." Journal of humanistic psychology 56.6 (2016): 595-611.
Matter, Black Lives. "Black Lives Matter." URL: http://blacklivesmatter. com/about/[10
April 2016] (2016).
Prescod-Weinstein, C. (2018). Taking a Knee Needs to Be About Black Lives, Not Protesting
Trump. [online] Slate Magazine. Available at:
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2017/09/taking_a_knee_is_about_
black_lives_not_donald_trump.html [Accessed 16 Mar. 2018].
Taylor, Keeanga-Yamahtta. From# BlackLivesMatter to black liberation. Haymarket Books,
(2016).