Unity Picnic aims to exert solidarity across racial barriers

Students at Encinal High School (EHS) announced during the school day last Monday that they would join the recent protests staged by sports professionals highlighting the inequality people of color confront daily in the United States. As school let out for the day, a large portion of the student body met in front of the school at the flagpole for a rendition of the national anthem. 

As the Star Spangled Banner played, the students sat, knelt or raised their fists in solidarity with former San Francisco 49er Colin Kaepernick who started the movement last season. 

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick said, explaining the movement which has taken on new meaning in light of the president’s recent comments.

The students at EHS knelt with more than 200 NFL players who joined the movement this past weekend.

In a somewhat related event last Saturday, the second annual Unity Picnic brought more than 100 Alamedans of all backgrounds together to proclaim their solidarity. The locals gathered at the shoreline to illustrate their unity by becoming part of the word itself. (See photo above.) 

Following the photo opportunity, the attendees spent several hours eating, listening to poetry and music and enjoying the afternoon together.