Councilman Defends His Stance to Sit During Pledge

By RENEE SAFF & RICHARD ANDERSON

City Councilman Jumaane Williams on Thursday defended his decision to follow the example of San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick and remain seated during recital of the Pledge of Allegiance to protest racial inequality in America.

“Kaepernick has been doing this for a while, and I figured it’s just time to make what I was doing privately more public to try to bring awareness to the issues,” Williams told Brooklyn News Service regarding how he sat silently in prayer with his head bowed as his colleagues recited the pledge on Wednesday.

The Brooklyn legislator noted his long-held belief that a gulf existed between the written text and the realities of American society.

“I just think you have to continue doing what you can with what you have where you are to raise the issue,” he added, “and I think I did that because clearly we’re still talking about it.”

From a young age, Williams said he has protested social injustices. He once boycotted Coca-Cola products when he found out that the company supported apartheid, and he would not eat meat because the idea of killing animals appalled him.

Williams’ recent refusal to stand for the pledge was prompted by the news that Daniel Pantaleo, the officer who shot and killed Eric Garner, received tens of thousands of dollars of overtime pay while on desk duty. His decision also came in the wake of the Council’s decision not to vote on the Right to Know Act, a police reform bill calling for more transparency within the Police Department.

His collegues were generally supportive of his stance.

“If he believes that the U.S. is falling short of its founding ideals, then protest is how you hold the country accountable for not living up to its founding heritage,” said Councilman Ritchie Torres. “That’s what Dr. Martin Luther King did. I think that’s the greatest expression of patriotism.”

Several councilmembers agreed with the message that Williams was hoping to get across, stating that more awareness needed to be focused social issues.

“I recognize that we still have so many deficiencies, so many inequities, so many broken systems around education and criminal justice,” said Councilwoman Vanessa L. Gibson. “Yes, we’re all free, but African-Americans and Latinos, we still struggle. Women still struggle. We’re still not equal, we don’t even make the same amount as a man.”

But Councilman Eric Ulrich condemned the protests by Williams and Kaepernick as “not appropriate”, according to Newsday, making him one of the few councilmembers to speak out against Williams’ actions.
“He is absolutely entitled to exercise his opinion in the least, as he sees fit,” said Councilman Stephen Levin. “I trust that he put a lot of thought into it, and he has every right to do that… I’m okay with however he wants to express his political opinion.”

While many councilmembers recognized Williams’ First Amendment right to express his opinion, they said they would not consider sitting during the Pledge of Allegiance as an option for themselves/

“Whenever we cite the Pledge of Allegiance I always stand because to me it’s a matter of respect of this country, the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave and the American values that we have,” Gibson said.