Bruce Springsteen and Colin Kaepernick Honored Together at ACLU Awards — Here's What Happened

Two icons from completely different worlds shared a stage in Washington, D.C. last Friday night. Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick and rock legend Bruce Springsteen received the first-ever ACLU Ralph Ellison Award, a new honor recognizing contributions to civil rights and civil liberties.

Kaepernick, who first knelt during the national anthem in 2016 to protest racial injustice and police violence, lost his NFL career over that silent gesture. ACLU President Deborah Archer praised his sacrifice, saying“He demonstrated in real time the price America too often exacts from those who challenge racial injustice.”Kaepernick’s speech was brief but pointed — he asked the crowd,“It’s going to be whether we decided: Are we going to build the schools or not?”

Springsteen closed the ceremony with a solo acoustic performance of“Streets of Minneapolis,”a deeply emotional song about loss and hope. The two honorees couldn’t be more different in style, but both have spent their careers using their platforms to speak for those who often go unheard. What do you think — does recognizing protests like Kaepernick’s change how we see them ten years later? Drop your thoughts in the comments.