Media Co-optation of the Take A Knee Movement: Pre and Post-Trump

The Take A Knee Movement against police brutality, started by former football quarterback, Colin Kaepernick was examined before and after Donald Trump’s election. Findings suggest a difference in mainstream media reporting on the movement following a September 2017 altercation between Trump and the NFL. Looking at 174 online articles, I witnessed the change in mainstream reporting over the movement from “un-American” to indicative of the rights and freedoms afforded Americans by the United States government. The media co-optation of the Take A Knee Movement, a shift from disapproving to approving coverage, signifies a trend in white America. The initial rejection and eventual adoption of Black and minority-led protest movements by the mainstream demonstrates an alteration of message which most movements must go through to continue servicing the status quo.