On the Fourth of July in 2019, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) sought to teach former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick a lesson about a speech he quoted.
Kaepernick took to Twitter to point to Civil War-era abolitionist Frederick Douglass’ “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” speech.
He added the excerpt, “What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? This Fourth of July is yours, not mine…There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of these United States at this very hour.”
Cruz responded, suggesting “without context, many modern readers will misunderstand” Kaepernick’s quote.
He went on to note the speech “was given in 1852, before the Civil War, when the abomination of slavery still existed.”
Cruz continued, “Thanks to Douglass and so many other heroes, we ended that grotesque evil and have made enormous strides to protecting the civil rights of everybody.”
(1) This speech was given in 1852, before the Civil War, when the abomination of slavery still existed. Thanks to Douglass and so many other heroes, we ended that grotesque evil and have made enormous strides to protecting the civil rights of everybody.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 5, 2019
The senator argued Douglass was not “anti-American; he was, rightly and passionately, anti-slavery.”
“Allow me to say, in conclusion, notwithstanding the dark picture I have this day presented, of the state of the nation, I do not despair of this country,” Douglass said.
“Allow me to say, in conclusion, notwithstanding the dark picture I have this day presented, of the state of the nation, I do not despair of this country.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 5, 2019Should Kaepernick be in the NFL?
“I, therefore, leave off where I began, with hope. While drawing encouragement from ‘the Declaration of Independence,’ the great principles it contains, and the genius of American Institutions, my spirit is also cheered by the obvious tendencies of the age.”
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 5, 2019
Concluding his Twitter thread, Cruz wrote, “Let me encourage everyone, READ THE ENTIRE SPEECH; it is powerful, inspirational, and historically important in bending the arc of history towards justice.”
Let me encourage everyone, READ THE ENTIRE SPEECH; it is powerful, inspirational, and historically important in bending the arc of history towards justice: https://t.co/il9WNrmxho
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 5, 2019
ESPN noted Kaepernick last played professional football in 2016.
That was the same year he began kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice.
In his Netflix special released in 2021, Kaepernick compared NFL procedures to slavery.
“What they don’t want you to understand is what’s being established is a power dynamic,” Kaepernick said.
He continued, “Before they put you on the field, teams poke, prod and examine you searching for any defect that might affect your performance. No boundary respect. No dignity left intact.”
The black actors playing prospective NFL players walk off of the field and onto an auction block in the Netflix special.
“Look at this here! Come on! Who wants this?” the auctioneer says.
Kaepernick received criticism for his comparison.
A league source told ESPN in May that Kaepernick worked out for the Las Vegas Raiders.
