Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Politics/National
NationalNewsRaceSports

Michigan Teen’s Essay Explaining Decision to Sit During Anthem Inspires City to Reckon with Its Racist Past

Posted byBy Shamone Nelson | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

Alex Hosey, 15, sits during the National Anthem before his basketball game on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018 at East Lansing High School in East Lansing. Hosey sits during the National Anthem to protest the discrimination that black families faced when they tried to purchase homes in the city. Picture credit: TheUndefeated.com

East Lansing, Michigan like most cities in the United Staes, has a dark and troubled history as it relates to racism. An East Lansing High school student has forced his city to reckon with that past. Alex Hosey recently wrote an essay explaining why he’s refused to stand for the national anthem and he’s inspired something special.

The 15-year-old basketball player wrote in his essay entitled “Why I sit,” “As an African-American male I believe that if I did stand at this time I would be disrespecting myself and my people.” He continued, “The reason for this is because of our nation’s long history of discrimination toward people of color that continues to this day.”

After reading Hosey’s essay and considering past racial injustices, the city issued a formal apology to all people affected by the discrimination. One of those injustices included keeping prospective Black homebuyers from purchasing homes in the area until a new law was passed in 1968.

The apology read, “The City Council and City of East Lansing profoundly acknowledges, apologizes for, and condemns all racially motivated, discriminatory or exclusionary aspects of the city’s history and deeply regrets any pain or suffering such policies may have caused to any person.”

City officials hope to keep the momentum going and plan to meet with Hosey and other concerned parties to have an annual discussion about the issues in their city. Council member Aaron Stephens said, “it’s a constant and ever-moving force you have to keep fighting for.”

Still independent.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top