Eric Reid: ''Nothing will change unless you talk about it''
“I’m a black man in America, I grew up black in America. You can’t tell me that what i’ve experienced and i’ve seen is not true.”
By: Omar Cook
The Carolina Panthers lost safety Da'Norris Searcy for the season due to a concussion and replaced him with who people may see as a controversial signing. "We got a steal" said Cam Newton of the Panthers new signee, Eric Reid.
Reid has been unsigned all season and is involved in a collusion grievance against the NFL along with Colin Kaepernick. He received mass criticism for kneeling alongside Kaepernick initially when they both played for the 49ers together. It’s crazy to think that one of the best safeties in the league at only 26 and a former pro bowler, has gone this long without being signed.
America claims to have freedom of speech, but this is executed in a way that rubs people the wrong way, the message tends to fall on deaf ears. Kaepernick and Reid have led a movement that has brought to light the truths about racial injustice in America, and the prejudices that black people face when dealing with law enforcement. For this, Reid and Kaepernick have been black balled from the league for some time now. For the Panthers to give Reid a chance, is major and says a lot about the organization. Reid says he has not decided how he will continue his protest but will continue it nonetheless.
In his welcoming press conference to the Panther’s organization, Reid spoke clearly about his positioning on where he stood on his protests and how he felt about racial issues in America.
“Next year will be 2019. It will mark 400 years since the first slaves touched the soil of this country. That’s 400 years of systemic oppression,” Reid said. “That’s slavery, Jim Crow, new Jim Crow, mass incarceration, you name it. The Great Depression — they come out with the New Deal, and black people didn’t have access to those government stimulus packages. The New Deal set up what is known as the modern-day middle class. We didn’t have access to those programs, the GI Bill, social security, home loans, none of that. So this has been happening since my people have gotten here. And so, I just felt the need to say something about it.”
For Reid to continue to stand strong with his voice and opinion even after signing with a new team, that says a lot about his character and what his true motives are. As a black community, it’s imperative that more black people with major platforms use their voice in the right way to empower people of color and to help move us in the right direction of not only social equality, but to open doors for people coming after them.
Reid spoke of working with Kaepernick through various projects in the black community saying, “our goal is to use our platform to empower our people and to not only open the door for us, but to build our own building and have our own door, so we want to encourage our people to be strong.”
Reid was also asked how this new opportunity will help him to keep spreading his message saying:
When we started, Colin and I – nothing will change unless you talk about it. So we’re going to continue to talk about it and we’re going to continue to hold America to the standard that it says on paper, that we’re all created equal, because it’s not that way right now – but we’re going to keep pushing towards that.
Many people have not agreed with the way NFL players have decided to protest and this has caused some fans to boycott the league and express their feelings on the protests through social media. It’s unfortunate that people refuse to see the true message behind the protests and are solely focused on the fact that the protests happened during the national anthem, but that’s the point of protesting; to disrupt and gather attention. Players have protested in a peaceful manner but still there are fans that wish the players would just shut up and play.
Even with all of the naysayers, the negativity, and the bad mouthing, Reid has remained strong in what he feels.
There’s always opposition when you speak on topics like I’m speaking on, but I’m a black man in America; I grew up black in America, you can’t tell me what I’ve experienced and what I’ve seen is not true.
Reid made a statement that a lot of people may not want to hear but it’s facts! “You can’t live in your own house in America without getting killed,” Reid said in reference to Botham Shem Jean, a black man who was killed in his own home for nothing by a police officer. It’s time that America begins to acknowledge as a whole that we do have racial issues and that there are crooked cops who have an agenda against black people. People hate to acknowledge these things because they hate having to face the truth even about their own self and beliefs.
The Panthers organization has been very welcoming of Reid, as they should be. Reid is definitely a steal for any team at this point and should make an immediate impact on the field. Sometimes we get so caught up in hearing about the protests that we don’t acknowledge that these players are putting their entire livelihood on the line just to speak their mind. Why should speaking the truth cost you your job and life long dream?
It’s great to see Reid get another shot in the NFL but he never should have been out of the league in the first place. His teammates and coaches have shown appreciation for the person they are getting in the locker room. “He’s a great player,” Newton said. “We’ve accepted him with open arms. We know he’s going to be an impact player for us, and that’s all I care about. — I’m going to stand by him and none of that will be a distraction as far as us winning football games,” Newton said. “What he does on the football field is going to impact this team. I know that.”
At the end of day, Reid is a ball player and doing his job is what he is expected to do, but seeing that he acknowledges that his purpose is bigger than football is encouraging. Black kids that watch games on Sunday’s should know that their role models are sticking up for them and are fighting for a better future for them, a future where they won’t have to feel like they have a target on their back just for being black. Reid closed out the press conference saying, “I will keep speaking for my people.” Respect.
Check out the full press conference below!
Eric Reid: “I’ll keep speaking for my people.”
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