Colin Kaepernick’s decision to take a knee during the National Anthem this NFL preseason has sparked numerous professional athletes, particularly those in the NFL, to speak out against police treatment of black people. Some have taken their movement beyond social media, and beyond taking a knee during the anthem, and into local communities.
Torrey Smith, one of Kaepernick’s wide receivers with the 49ers, hosted a panel discussion with students in Baltimore Wednesday, as For The Win detailed today. The plan took place at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School.
Smith went to college at the University of Maryland and spent the first three years of his career with the Baltimore Ravens.
“I came here as a football player, but being in the community and seeing the issues that they have here made me want to do more to help,” Smith said. “It’s a real connection.”
The panel focused primarily on police and education.
“There’s no one fix, there’s no easy fix and we’re just trying to figure out different things that we can help expose them to,” Smith said, speaking of the issues facing young black men in the city. “We’ve got to keep going, keep gassing the pedal because this is as urgent today—as it will be tomorrow, as it was yesterday—so we have to make sure we’re doing our part to change the city.”
You can read the full story on For The Win. Credit to Smith for getting out there and initiating change in an area that desperately needs it.
