Should we dismiss Colin Kaepernick’s cause because he doesn’t vote?

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick cited “oppression” as the reason he won’t vote. So how are African Americans oppressed after the abolishment of slavery, the outlawing of discrimination and eight years of a mixed raced man as President?

First of all, public education funding is based on parcel tax, consequently poor black and brown students don’t receive the same resources as wealthy white schools because property taxes are much higher in white suburbs than they are in poor minority neighborhoods. Such a taxation system is inherently biased.

In the criminal justice system, blacks, whether wealthy or not, are arrested, convicted and sent to jail for longer terms than whites under the same circumstances and for the same crimes.

In law enforcement, we continue to witness the tragic shooting of unarmed blacks by police. [continuing reading…]