From The Hill:
BY JACQUELINE THOMSEN
A civil rights
group is protesting the choice of potential Senate candidate Kid Rock
as an opening act for a new stadium in predominantly black Detroit
over the singer's support of the Confederate flag and criticism of NFL
quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
The National Action
Network’s Detroit chapter is calling for Kid Rock’s concerts at the new Little
Caesars Arena to be canceled and is planning a protest against the musician
next week, The Associated Press reportedWednesday.
Kid Rock, who is
supposedly considering a run for Senate as a Republican in Michigan, has drawn
criticism over his support of President Trump and his use of the
Confederate flag, as well as his criticism of Kaepernick for his protest
of the national anthem during the past NFL season.
“You know
what? F--k Colin Kaepernick,” Kid Rock said during a concert in
Iowa last month. The NFL player has earned criticism for refusing to
stand during the national anthem at football games last season.
“These are moments
where you have to act as a matter of character and state what your values are,”
Peter Hammer, the director of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights, told
the AP. “Everything now is becoming symbolic. That means we have to choose our
symbols carefully.”
“Everything is
different post-Charlottesville," he said of the white supremacist rally
that turned violent in the Virginia town last month.
Christopher Ilitch,
the president and CEO of Ilitch Holdings, which owns the company managing the
arena, told the AP he “can’t control what any artist does or says.”
“I will always demand
that our companies strive to do right by Detroit, our community and its
people,” Ilitch said.
The National Action Network was
founded by Rev. Al Sharpton.
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