Watch: Who Will Kneel for You? Artists Speak Out

The Super Bowl may have been noticeably devoid of on-field protests, but the multiple “head injuries” within the game itself were a not-so-subtle reminder of the controversies that led to the low ratings of the 2017 NFL season.

In this video, Danny Glover, Anna Deavere Smith and a chorus of other artists recite “To Kneel” by Kathy Engel in support of the 2018 NFL protest and the right to dissent and against racist police violence:

The black men who make wagesfrom the brutal banging of the skull,pounding of the knees, armsreaching like branches in the longarc of a pass, now kneel.

The muscles of their souls,the soles of their cleats, stretchof thighs speak. Fans and refs yell,commentators jabber and behold:one knee, hand to ground,they kneel, the weightof their built-up bodiespulled earthward as if calledby those from beforeto kneel now, refusing to salutethis country’s killing field.

Those with the heart to be the lonelyfirst; their knees sing. Jobs at stake,they kneel for the inheritors. For the futuredignity of bodies to choose to standor touch down.

And the joining, too—some, then flocks, arms threaded,waving flags of jersey-ed bodies,an anthem, for the uncountable—to be counted. And to thosewho drop to the kneeonly in the recesses of a lockedback room or those who switch and baitin the light, amid the throngs—or thosewho hide behind their whiteness—who will be there to kneel for youwhen such a time comes, as it willcome?

What will you say whenyour children or your grandchildren,their friends or lovers askwhat parts of your bodiestouched the groundin the moment of loyalty,or the moment of betrayal?What would I say?

The video above was produced in cooperation with PEN America and multiple other supporters.In a statement, PEN America said:

The right to dissent is a constitutionally protected and fundamentally American value. This past year, as NFL players faced pressure from the president and a number of team owners, PEN America rallied with a coalition of organizations to defend the players’ rights to protest racial injustice and police brutality. We collected over 130,000 signatures in solidarity. We organized a public action outside the fall owners’ meeting, days after the president’s insistence on a league-sanctioned end to the protests. Just before Thanksgiving, the NFL announced they would be committing $100 million to social-justice initiatives. But the work of protecting dissent in our democracy continues.