Feature Photo By: Vanessa Guereca- Senior Diondre Johnson holds up a raised fist as a form of peaceful protest during the national anthem. Johnson was seen doing this at the grand assembly during homecoming week.

During the playing of the national anthem at Rangeview High School’s annual Homecoming assembly, several Rangeview students raised their right hands in the air, and rather than placing them over their hearts, formed a fist in protest.

This gesture, known as the “black power fist” by many, has been used by thousands of African Americans over the past half-century as a symbol of solidarity and unity. While minorities in America have been oppressed many times over the years, they have always found unique ways to stand up for what they believed was right. Some of these recent demonstrations have taken hold here at Rangeview.

The protesting of the national anthem, headed by NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick and Bronco Brandon Marshall, has been the latest method of support for those who have felt that their rights as humans have been denied by the country, and while Rangeview students don’t have the voice of a professional athlete, they are still doing what they can, they say.

Senior Jah Mujib was one of the students who took part in the protest.

“I think the ‘70s was the time where black support was the highest,” Mujib said. “We need to relive that. It starts with us though, we as blacks need to take care of ourselves.”

Senior Diondre Johnson had a simple reason for his protest: “Black is beautiful, black is successful, and we’re not treated as such.”

Students were not the only ones to take a stand, however.

Rangeview faculty member Ms. Goheen took her own stand, modeling after Kaepernick and other professional athletes by taking a knee while the anthem was playing.

“I wanted to show that I supported the other kids who were protesting as well, that they had someone to stand with,” Goheen said.

For Goheen, the matter is personal.

“I’m from a family of immigrants, and for us to be called rapists and perceived to be all about crime and drugs was not okay,” she said. “I had to stand up for my people and will continue to do so.”

While these actions have garnered much attention, not everyone agrees with the protest.

Senior Zach Trujillo commented on those who sat during the anthem’s choices. Trujillo completed U.S. Army training camp this summer and will be full-time after graduation in May.

“The anthem represents the men and women who died for our country and gave us the freedoms to choose to sit down,” he said. “Not standing dishonors them.”  

These protests from professional athletes across America have taken over the national spotlight, and many average citizens have taken it upon themselves to stand up for the causes they believe in as well.