#the commissioner asked that i make one minor change of 'freedom of all men' to 'freedom of all people'

[embroid-away]

What If: Captain America Were Revived Today? #44 (April 1983) by Peter B. Gillis and Sal Buscema; Original Image by John Romita Sr.

In this What If? Marvel tale, Captain America is unfrozen in 1983 rather than the 1960s. Without the leadership of Steve Rogers, The Avengers disband. Meanwhile, a Captain America imposter, who calls himself a "real American," has decided to use his newfound influential media status to publicly support a National Identity Card to "deal with illegal aliens,” to suggest that members of civil rights groups "ought to think seriously as to whether or not their actions contribute to the strengthening of communist enemies," and declare that if those groups tear the country apart with protests, martial law is justified "for the peace to find a solution.”

Neighborhoods with large black populations (e.g., Harlem) are walled off and forced into poverty, and one character even mentions that Jewish people are being “put back into camps.” The right-wing politicians make sure that things like this aren’t shown on television, keeping the majority of the American public ignorant of the horrors committed with their indifferent support. The public are simultaneously told that with some sacrifices, America can be free once again. The fake Captain America confronts a group of peaceful protestors, and he is shot by a sniper (in what reads like an inside job), allowing the police to have “reason” to attack the protestors. The imposter does not die and instead uses the attack to provide more reason for the violent crackdown against protesting groups.

When the true Captain America is unfrozen, he is horrified to see what America has become, especially with his emblem stamped all over it. He immediately seeks out the resistance forces (who clearly represent the Black Panther Party) and joins their cause, stating that "the wrongs [he's] seen will take much more than one man to right -- but [he's] got a name to clear, a costume to unsoil-- and a country to die for!!"

By the time Steve joins them, the resistance only has one chance left to stop the American downfall: a political convention where the "America First" party will be able to secure its support to sweep the national elections and allow them "to return America to the pure and great nation [the] forefathers envisioned."

The resistance strikes just as the convention begins. The Captain America imposter is no match in a fight against the true Captain America -- especially against a Steve Rogers who's fucking pissed. ("Get up so I can knock you down!!")

With the imposter knocked unconscious, Captain America addresses the convention crowd, warning that an America that does not represent all its people does not deserve to exist at all; that liberty can be "as easily snuffed out [in America] as in Nazi Germany" and "as a people, we are no different from them."

The crowd realizes that the man speaking before them is the true Captain America and cheers. Captain America holds his hand up and silences them, stating that he will not allow them the chance to simply replace one idol with another. He alone can’t undo the horrible damage, and he pleads that there’s still a chance for the people to “find America once again.”

Fascism doesn’t change its tune, just its singers.

A 2021 Marvel Trumps Hate ( @marveltrumpshate ) commission, completed on 22-count aida cloth with embroidery floss and watercolors on a 9" diameter bamboo hoop.

[mcdouglecompany-blog]

John Stossel, Rand Paul, CW2?, Leaving the Left, White South Africa Arms and the Falling Walrus Deception.

John Stossel, Rand Paul, CW2?, Leaving the Left, White South Africa Arms and the Falling Walrus Deception.

Stossel: Rand Paul on The Case Against Socialism

Jason Mcmanus CW2? Virginia will be ground zero.

Activists vs. One Man’s Skee-Ball Arcade

Thousands Leaving Democrat Party in #WalkawayMovement

White South Africans Take Up Arms

Falling Walrus: Attenborough Tacitly Admits Netflix Deception

John Mulaney

  Stossel: Rand Paul on The Case Against Socialism.

https://youtu.be/EP_YoMURElA

ReasonTV

Sen. Rand Paul takes on socialist arguments about Venezuela, Scandinavia, and fairness. Even as Venezuelans starve, Senator Rand Paul (R–Ky.) notes that socialism has gained ground in the United States. That's why he wrote "The Case Against Socialism." The chapter on Venezuelan socialism is titled, "Because Eating Your Pets is Overrated." "You would think that…when your economy gets to the point where people are eating their pets, people might have second thoughts about what economic system they've chosen," Paul tells John Stossel. But Stossel notes that today American socialists say, "We won't be like that." Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.) says, "when I talk about Democratic socialism, I'm not looking at Venezuela. I'm not looking at Cuba. I'm looking at countries like Denmark and Sweden." But Paul debunks that myth in his book. "It's not true that the Scandinavian countries are socialist," Paul tells Stossel. Stossel points out that while Scandinavia tried socialist policies years ago, they then turned away from socialism, privatizing industries and repealing regulations. In fact, when experts rank economic freedom, Scandinavian countries rank near the top. Denmark's prime minister even responded to Sanders, saying: "Denmark is far from a socialist planned economy." Scandinavia did keep socialist policies like government-run health care. Media outlets suggest that's why Scandinavians live longer. But Paul says: "This is the trick of statistics…it started way before socialized medicine." His book has the stats to back that up. In the 1960s, before Sweden's healthcare was totally nationalized, Swedish men already lived five years longer than American men. Now, they…still live five years longer. Stossel says Paul's book is different from other politicians' platitude-filled books. Paul did actual research. He cites sources that back up his point about health care, comparing the life expectancy of Swedish men and American men in 1960s. Regarding Sweden's ability to pull people out of poverty, Paul credits Swedish culture, not government programs. He tells Stossel of a story about Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman: "This Swedish economist comes up to him and he says, 'You know in Sweden we have no poverty.' And Friedman responds, 'Well, yeah, in America we have no poverty among Swedish Americans.'" Paul confirms that with data from Swedish researcher Nima Sanandaji, who writes: "Danish Americans today have fully 55 percent higher living standard than Danes. Similarly, Swedish Americans have a 53 percent higher living standard than Swedes." Stossel says it's good that Paul debunks these myths and warns against repeating the tragic history of socialism. Paul gives a partial list of failures: "Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Pol Pot, Castro, Chavez, Maduro. It doesn't work." The views expressed in this video are solely those of John Stossel; his independent production company, Stossel Productions; and the people he interviews. The claims and opinions set forth in the video and accompanying text are not necessarily those of Reason.

------- Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/ReasonTV?sub_... Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Reason.Magazine. Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/reason Subscribe to our podcast at iTunes: https://goo.gl/az3a7a Reason is the planet's leading source of news, politics, and culture from a libertarian perspective. Go to reason.com for a point of view you won't get from legacy media and old left-right opinion magazines. ---------

    CW2? Virginia will be ground zero.

TikTok’s Jason Mcmanus CW2? Virginia will be ground zero.

https://www.tiktok.com/@jsinnmusic/video/6769988507189497094

@jsinnmusic

#2a #nra #virginia #tyranny #wakeup #3percenter #unconstitutional #laws #fyp #foryoupage #trump2020

    Activists vs. One Man’s Skee-Ball Arcade: How Red Tape Is Ruining San Francisco

https://youtu.be/SQo6UZzyR3Y

ReasonTV

Joey Mucha wanted to convert his warehouse into a restaurant, bar, and arcade. Then community activists intervened. Joey Mucha is a three-time Skee-Ball national champion and the owner of Joey the Cat, an arcade rental, repair, and events company that he started in 2010 from his one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco. After winning some prize money, Mucha was able to purchase his own fleet of Skee-Ball machines and other arcade games. In 2014, he purchased a former car repair shop and turned it a private event space and a place for fixing broken arcade games. In April of 2019, he decided to convert his space into a restaurant, bar, and arcade. His property was already zoned for this use, but despite following all applicable codes and regulations, Mucha still had to argue his case at a public Planning Commission hearing in November. His project was jeopardized by a process known as discretionary review, in which any member of the public, in exchange for a $600 fee, can ask San Francisco's Planning Commission to hold a hearing to review building permits. So far in 2019, the commission has publicly heard 91 requests for discretionary review. Since every building permit in the city is subject to this process, it can add significantly to the construction costs. "Commissioners are empowered to reject most any permit, regardless of whether it satisfies the underlying zoning code," wrote Reason's Christian Britschgi in a piece about Mucha's fight. While Mucha did end up getting permission to move forward with his renovations, the story of how the project was nearly stopped, and what Mucha endured in order to prevail, underscores how even the most benign land-use changes in San Francisco can be hampered by red tape.

------------------ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/ReasonTV?sub_... Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Reason.Magaz... Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/reason Subscribe to our podcast at Apple Podcasts: https://goo.gl/az3a7a Reason is the planet's leading source of news, politics, and culture from a libertarian perspective. Go to reason.com for a point of view you won't get from legacy media and old left-right opinion magazines. ----------------

    Thousands Leaving Democrat Party in #Walkaway Movement

https://youtu.be/IAhzp2zoL5c

One America News Network

For months now a growing movement on social media is highlighting the thousands of people leaving the Democrat Party as leftist leaders continue to embrace more progressive ideologies. Its called the #WalkAway movement and it could spell good news for Republicans come November. Jack Posobiec sits down with their founder to learn more about the group. Visit us at: Website: http://www.oann.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneAmericaNe... Twitter: https://twitter.com/OANN

    White South Africans Take Up Arms -- Afrikaners Aim to Counter Gov't Land Grabs, White Genocide.

https://youtu.be/1NyVYaI_V6w

One America News Network

Controversial land reforms in South Africa are raising tensions as the nation's white minority arm themselves to defend their farms against government seizures. One America's Kristian Rouz has the story.

    Falling Walrus: Attenborough Tacitly Admits Netflix Deception

https://youtu.be/U5Ji6ME3Vlo

GWPF

New footage reveals the truth about the notorious falling 'climate-change' walruses.

  John Mulaney

-------------------------------------------------------------------- 

HELP ACU SPREAD THE WORD!

Please send to friends, post on Facebook, twitter, etc…

Over 4,000 commercial free archived shows are available on our podcast site here.  

  Ways to subscribe to the American Conservative University Podcast

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

Click here to subscribe via RSS

You can also subscribe via Stitcher

And any of your favorite podcast Apps.

If you like this episode head on over to iTunes and kindly leave us a rating, a review and subscribe! People find us through our good reviews.

  FEEDBACK + PROMOTION

You can ask your questions, make comments, submit ideas for shows and lots more. Let your voice be heard.

Download our FREE iOS App.

Download our FREE Android App.

Email us at americanconservativeuniversity@americanconservativeuniversity.com

Note- ACU Students and Alumni are asked to commit to donating Platelets.  Make an Appointment Today! Call The Red Cross at 1-800-733-2767

  Click here to download the episode

[junker-town]

Why LPGA stars were reluctant to criticize a Donald Trump course hosting the U.S. Women's Open

The U.S. Women's Open, the biggest event in women's golf, tees off at Trump Bedminster after years of controversy. Here's why some of the calls for boycotts and protests never gained much traction.

The 72nd U.S. Women's Open begins today at Trump National in Bedminster, N.J. However, controversy surrounds the women's golf's marquee event as observers continue to lob questions about why the United States Golf Association did not move the venue amid concerns about President Donald Trump's disparaging remarks about women.

That question isn’t as simple as it seems on its face. Besides the financial implications of moving the event, LPGA pros have been split in their support for Trump. Several pros are supporters with deep ties to the President; others who have been offended by Trump’s public statements have publicly expressed dismay but, with the Tour’s biggest paycheck of the year on the line, are not pulling out of the event.

With a $5 million dollar tournament purse and the President reportedly planning to attend, that means that this year’s Open could be a powder keg. And it looks like that might be just fine for stakeholders in women’s golf.

President Trump has a long, public love affair with golf. Beyond the 18 courses he owns, Trump has had relationships with the PGA and LPGA tours for years, with both groups hosting several tournaments at his venues. One of his courses, Trump National DC, held a senior men's major, the Senior PGA Championship, just over a month ago.

But Trump’s connection with the golf world turned controversial not long after he began campaigning for the presidency. When Trump made comments about Mexico sending its “rapists” in June 2015, members of the golf community urged the LPGA to change the British Open venue, which was to be held at a Trump property. Despite the demand, the Open stayed put.

LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan responded at the time, “with just three weeks until the championship, a change in venue for this prestigious major simply isn’t feasible without significantly diminishing the event. By no means, however, does this decision suggest support for Mr. Trump’s comments. The LPGA will continue its commitment to diversity and inclusion in the game of golf as it has done for the last 65 years.”

Trump continued making incendiary comments when he proposed a ban on Muslims entering the United States. Six months after the PGA Tour hinted it might move the World Golf Championship from Trump National Doral in Miami, the PGA announced that the WGC would be held in Mexico City in 2017.

Then PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem stated the move was apolitical and based strictly on financial reasons since Cadillac had dropped out as the title sponsor. But it was clear that hosting tournaments on Trump properties could prove risky business.

While the PGA Tour found a new venue in Mexico to host the prestigious WGC, the LPGA and USGA found themselves in a quandary. As the final months of the 2016 campaign wound down, a major question kept surfacing for them: should they move the U.S. Women’s Open from Trump Bedminster to a new venue? Such a move would need months of lead-time and that time was running out.

Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

A plane flying overhead at last month's U.S. Open in Wisconsin had a message for the USGA.

It did not take long for Trump to continue his steady barrage of commentary on women’s looks, and when his infamous Access Hollywood tape came out, USA Today sportswriter Christine Brennan urged the USGA to end their relationship with Trump and to move the U.S. Open to a new venue.

“A Trump golf course, no matter how beautiful and centrally located it might be, cannot play host to an event that is the crown jewel of a women’s sport, with competitors from around the world — not after all the awful things Trump has said about minorities, immigrants and women, culminating in the lewd and disgusting video that was made public last Friday.”

Three Democratic senators also sent a letter to the USGA requesting a change of venue due to a “pattern of degrading and dehumanizing women” displayed by Trump.

The USGA released this statement in July 2016 amid the backlash they received: “We have reiterated for more than a year that we do not share his views, and that is still true. With the 2017 U.S. Women's Open less than a year away, our focus is still on conducting an excellent championship for the players, the spectators, the fans, and the volunteers."

This week, a report in USA Today revealed that Trump threatened to sue the USGA if the major was moved from his Bedminster course. It certainly made for an interesting and awkward visual as the news percolated out during the practice rounds in New Jersey.

On the left, Michelle Wie talks about her golf game. And on the right... http://pic.twitter.com/lxDdHCwF0f

— Matt Stypulkoski (@M_Stypulkoski) July 11, 2017

The USGA governs whether or not it should move venues, so when we asked LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan what his views were on the matter he said, “I’ve got strong opinions on everything, and everyone knows that. However, I had a player say to me at a tournament in Korea, 'You and I both have our views on politics, and we both think the other is wrong, but let’s agree that we’ll never let politics affect the opportunities for women to play and to grow the game and our fan base.' Regardless of what I feel about about certain things, my job is to deliver opportunities [to the players].”

The LPGA cannot afford to get political, often taking what it can get to best promote the women's game and keep a full (or as full as possible) schedule. And while the LPGA may not have the financial freedom to move venues at a whim, the USGA, which runs the women's open, most certainly does. At the beginning of 2015, the USGA’s annual television revenue climbed from $37 million to $93 million when FOX Sports replaced ESPN and NBC in a massive new television deal.

Even with the financial means to move to a new course, many LPGA players did not see the relationship with Trump as an issue.

In fact, Trump has personal relationships with the players, like U.S. Open winner Cristie Kerr, who said, “Nobody treats the LPGA better than Donald.” In a separate interview she added, “I’m all for women’s empowerment and everything. Donald’s done tons for the women’s game.” Kerr is an honorary member at his clubs, and also appeared on his show The Apprentice. Ten-year LPGA veteran Natalie Gulbis also has a close relationship with Trump. She was on The Apprentice, too, and spoke at the Republican National Convention to endorse Trump as the GOP nominee. Kerr is in the field this week but Gulbis is not.

During the campaign, Trump made time to play with LPGA star Lexi Thompson, who also holds an honorary membership at his club in South Florida. After their round, Thompson called him a “great guy.”

So when people protested to move the U.S. Women’s Open to a new venue, the blistering critiques of Trump fell on many deaf ears in the LPGA community. Some players see him as their champion, someone who has made the tour better.

Victoria Elizabeth, an LPGA player said, “I would be extremely disappointed that they would give into the minority of people who were offended.”

In fact, Elizabeth believes that Trump’s support for women’s golf makes him an advocate. “In my opinion, a person or company would not sponsor women's golf unless they truly cared about growing the game of women's golf," she said. "Anyone wanting to contribute monetarily to women's golf is a positive thing.”

For other players, their main concern is playing the top courses available to them, particularly for a major.

Mariajo Uribe from Colombia, who has played on the LPGA for seven seasons, said, “The U.S. Open is our biggest purse and most prestigious tournament. In my opinion the USGA and the community have put so much work into this event that it wouldn’t make sense to move it.”

Kim Kaufman, playing in her third year on the LPGA, found Trump’s comments offensive, but believed his remarks should not have affected the USGA’s decision to host at Bedminster.

“I think it is a very separate arena. Taking the U.S. Open to Bedminster does a lot of good for that community and its golf programs, and the media should just focus on that instead. It is an amazing track and there are many people that have worked very hard to host this event and even more that are looking forward to us coming to play. Those people deserve to have us there.”

Photo by Montana Pritchard/Getty Images

Donald Trump with past and present LPGA stars at a 2008 LPGA event at his West Palm Beach club.

We could not find a player to go on record stating that she would prefer if the USGA and LPGA looked into a different venue. After the first round of the last major, the Women's PGA Championship, Brittany Lincicome said, "Hopefully, maybe, he doesn’t show up, and it won’t be a big debacle, and it will be about us and not him." There was a backlash to the comment, including from John Daly, who took offense to Lincicome putting down one of his "great friends."

For many players, they simply want to keep politics out of golf. Daniela Iacobelli said, “I think that the USGA should look at a venue based on the course; on its way of testing the players’ ability. Nothing else.”

When the political and sports world collide, controversy will always bubble or explode. When it happens, players want to keep the focus on the talent in their given sport and for the league to continue to run smoothly. In particular, for women’s sports where sponsors are sparse and coverage is limited in comparison to men, there is often little desire to make waves. Every player has dodged political minefields this week, immediately going to the talking point in every press conference that they are just there to play and talk about golf.

USA Today’s Brennan told SB Nation that she believes part of the reason players choose to remain silent is simply because they’ve been treated like third-class citizens in golf for so long, existing in a world dominated by old white men. “Think about the women’s soccer team speaking out; think about Billie Jean King speaking out; women’s golfers sadly are always afraid to be second or third fiddle so they just don’t speak out. And they [players] could have ended this by saying something, but they never will.”

As for the LPGA, it appears it acted on its players’ behalf. Certainly there will be more interest in watching the women play the national championship at the 45th president’s course. Trump has already brought a truckload of media attention to the women’s tour that would not otherwise exist. But when it comes to the USGA and LPGA maintaining a relationship with Trump, they have made one thing clear: their main mission is to grow golf, regardless of whether it takes controversy to do so.

[junker-town]

A rally for Colin Kaepernick at NFL HQ showed how far his voice carries

Many gathered across the country Thursday in honor of Colin Kaepernick and his stance against police brutality.

NEW YORK — On a crowded midtown corner, Kevin Livingston, a middle-aged man preparing to lead a rally he prays shakes the NFL, sat against a car on Park Avenue looking through designer frames.

Livingston and two associates were outside the NFL’s New York headquarters. He swore they weren’t there to protest — not exactly. The distinction is important to Livingston, who organized the gathering, and positioned himself as a peace keeper between people standing in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick and the police who had given Livingston the space to stand on. He was trying to fulfill his end of the bargain.

“Hold on, brother. Before things start I gotta make a call,” Livingston said, trying not to ruffle his pinstripe suit. He dialed the local precinct to make sure there wouldn’t be any problems.

“Seeeeaaaarrgeantttt,” he yelled into his phone, his voice booming across 52nd St.

Loudspeakers lined the pavement between 51st and 52nd streets between hot dog vendors. Livingston’s cadre of demonstrators began to arrive. David Mims, who manned the camera and broadcasted everything through a Facebook live stream, looked at the building and the executives pooling out with awe.

“It's amazing,” Mims said. “You know, the plantation environment that goes on here."

The group, spearheaded by Livingston’s 100 Suits For 100 Men non-profit, which gives free suits to parolees, are part of the NFL’s vast consumer base. Kaepernick is being blacklisted by the league, Livingston said, and he wouldn’t stand for that. The least they could do is stand in solidarity with Kaepernick, a man they said risked his career to make a statement on behalf of minorities like him. What they hoped for, Livingston said, is that the quarterback gets hired again.

"Everyday folk just wanna protest for him,” Livingston told SB Nation last week. “He's our modern day Muhammad Ali."

Commissioner Roger Goodell has said that Kaepernick is not being blacklisted by the league. While Kaepernick’s advisor, Harry Edwards, a UC Berkeley sociology professor and civil rights activist, agrees, he told SB Nation teams were “wrestling with issues that inevitably would accompany that signing ... will inevitably precipitate.”

So Edwards supports Livingston’s demonstration in front of NFL HQ, as a show of fan support for Kaepernick to potential employers.

“The message that Colin deserves to be and should be on a roster at the opening of preseason camp is legitimate — unless the league, including the Commissioner's Office, are prepared to argue that Colin Kaepernick is a worse QB prospect than any of the 64 signed starters and backups at that position, not to speak of 32 third string ‘emergency QBs,’ whose basic skill is holding a clipboard,” Edwards told SB Nation.

Kaepernick, who primarily stayed in Manhattan this offseason, was on the opposite coast visiting the Seahawks hoping to secure a job. He missed a cross-country demonstration in his honor. Beyond New York, more than 10 other cities held similar events under Livingston’s banner — from Chicago, to Milwaukee, to D.C., to Houston.

This rally was a window into Kaepernick’s off-field impact. Yes, this could all be fruitless. The power of protest can’t force an NFL team to hire someone. But after what Kaepernick did, many here felt like they should try to return the favor.

The relationship between Kaepernick and Livingston began when Livingston was on New York’s Hot 97 station with radio personality “Nessa” last November. Nessa, who has been dating Kaepernick since 2015, told him about Livingston.

Since then, Kaepernick and Livingston have gotten together twice for charitable work. First, Kaepernick hosted Livingston and his 100 Suits Academy students at the Know Your Rights Camp. Then, Kaepernick followed up by donating 100 suits for Livingston to hand out to parolees in New York. It was those actions that spurned this one.

Kaepernick invited employees of the non-profit to a private workout he had in Harlem. It reached Marc Clarke, a radio personality for 103.9 FM in New York, who spoke during the demonstration. The workout encouraged Clarke not only to come here, but to invite Livingston on his late-night show to push his message.

Clarke had fights with co-workers in his office. They had a common retort: that Kaepernick protested the wrong way. Clarke’s co-workers echoed several popular refrains.

They enraged Clarke. He felt that his coworkers’ thinking ran counter to what Kaepernick was fighting for.

"(Kaepernick) used what he had, his platform. Being in the media and having the luxury of being able to speak my piece daily on radio, I respected what he did,” Clarke said. “It's a big sacrifice. You might lose your job and fans. You'll lose a lot. Not many people would chance or risk that.

"For some people it's not about justice, it's about protecting your job,” Clarke added. "It speaks to how programmed we are. To criticize it, that's how we derail progress."

Livingston’s demonstration attracted other big names across New York, some with a history of facing police brutality and violence. William Bell — the father of the late Sean Bell, who was shot by police, along with two others, 50 times in 2006 a day before his wedding in Queens — came to support Kaepernick.

Bell said that Kaepernick’s stance indirectly supported his family. It saddened him that people don’t see it that way.

“I hope he knows he has folks behind him,” Bell said. "I've been suffering for 10 years without my son. Last year it would've been his 34th birthday. How do you think we feel? If people were on the other side, and it happened to them, they'd think differently. They'd wish they'd had a Colin Kaepernick."

SB Nation

A truck with LED screens displaying messages in support of Colin Kaepernick and his decision to kneel for the national anthem during the 2016 NFL season

Emerald Snipes-Garner — daughter of Eric Garner, who New York police choked to death in July 2014 — echoed those same feelings into a bullhorn to onlookers.

“Because this man took a knee for us, we’re the ones that have to suffer and not watch him play?” she asked. “It’s not right that these cops get to walk away scot-free after they killed these unarmed men, and this one NFL player that stood up for us is getting all of this blackball, all of this backlash, it’s not right.”

Etan Thomas — a former NBA first-round pick who played 11 years in Washington, Atlanta, and Oklahoma City — recited poetry during the evening. New York State Senator James Sanders remembered his time in the Marines and said he fought so that people like Kaepernick could kneel. He thought people might tune out of the NFL if Kaepernick didn’t play.

“When brother Colin exercised his freedom of speech, he found that speech is not free. Or maybe it’s free for everybody but not him,” Sanders said.

People passing through Park Avenue huddled to watch everything unfold. Their reactions were mixed. One man sprinted in front of every camera, arms waving, yelling “I hate everyone.” Tourists tried to capture the moment on smartphones. A separate camera crew mocked the chants in the square behind dozens of demonstrators.

Legendary New York rapper Rah Digga, who was there holding signs and snapping pictures, saw all of this as she pulled up on the scene.

“At a time when it wasn’t cool, you defied the odds, you led the resistance on the field and we are here for you in the middle of (New York),” she said into a camera about Kaepernick. “Trust me, your efforts are not going unnoticed.”

Before the rally ended, bystanders could see two trucks pull up across the street. Both carried LED plasma screens showing Kaepernick kneeling all season. Their message rang across New York in white font, bold and underlined: “We Support Kaepernick.”

As the crowd started to disperse, Livingston took stock of what had just happened. Before he was in a suit standing on a corner in Midtown, he was receiving death threats for organizing the event.

Two different people contacted him at different times of the day before the rally. One told him if he showed up on this corner “there will be a bullet for your head.” Another spewed racial epithets, saying “I kill n******” before hanging up.

"It don't phase me,” Livingston said. “Gotta move forward. I ain't afraid. Never ran, never will."

SB Nation

A man stands in front of a demonstration for Colin Kaepernick in New York showing solidarity with the quarterback

Clarke was walking away near Livingston, rushing to his 7 p.m. radio slot to tell New York about what just happened on this street corner.

“There should be more of this,” he said. “This is what America is based on: protest. It's the basic foundation of the country.”

By the time it started getting dark, Rev. Al Sharpton — a man Livingston knows and admires — commented on his Instagram under a photo of Kaepernick with a black power fist emoji, writing “love you.”

It’s hard to define what counts as success in this situation. All Livingston and so many others want is for Kaepernick to get signed, to remain a symbol of American protest and black life on football fields, and to share in the same spoils as other quarterbacks of his caliber.

According to some members outside the NFL headquarters, some employees from the league came out and privately thanked the organizers for what they did. Livingston, however, by night’s end was grappling with what occurred. It rattled in his head that the turnout could have been bigger. He offered a justification.

"When you about change, people are going to stand up. I'm more encouraged than ever. I'd rather have a strong 20 than a weak 100,” he said, though nearly 100 people showed up on the block.

"I'm happy,” he said. “For real, man. To be honest, today, I was only expecting me."