White America's long history of discomfort with minority protests

And how President Trump tapped into it

Olympic medalists Tommie Smith (center) and John Carlos (right) raise their fists during the national anthem in 1968.
(Image credit: Paul Fearn / Alamy Stock Photo)

When President Trump inserted himself into the debate over NFL players' symbolic protests during the national anthem, he very likely believed that he was amplifying the righteous instincts of a "silent majority" of Americans. And he's probably not wrong. Recent polls suggest that while people don't support the idea of firing athletes for these weekly demonstrations, they are turned off by them.

This is hardly surprising. The white American mainstream, to the extent that such a thing may still be said to exist, has felt irritated or threatened by minority protest movements from the civil rights era to the present day. You can see it very clearly in contemporaneous reactions to these protests.

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Scott Galupo

Scott Galupo is a freelance writer living in Virginia. In addition to The Week, he blogs for U.S. News and reviews live music for The Washington Post. He was formerly a senior contributor to the American Conservative and staff writer for The Washington Times. He was also an aide to Rep. John Boehner. He lives with his wife and two children and writes about politics to support his guitar habit.