‘Read the speech’: Cruz says Kaepernick slavery comments lack context

Ted Cruz stepped in to provide context surrounding quotes former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick used on Independence Day to cast doubt on America’s greatness because of historic racism.

Kaepernick on Thursday tweeted a quote from a speech given by Frederick Douglass, a Civil War-era abolitionist.

“What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? This Fourth of July is yours, not mine,” the quote from Douglass read. “There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of these United States at this very hour.”

Cruz said those remarks lacked crucial context.

“You quote a mighty and historic speech by the great abolitionist Frederick Douglass, but, without context, many modern readers will misunderstand,” Cruz said in a responding tweet.

Let me encourage everyone, READ THE ENTIRE SPEECH; it is powerful, inspirational, and historically important in bending the arc of history towards justice: https://t.co/il9WNrmxho

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 5, 2019

The senator from Texas continued with a thread of tweets quoting more of the speech, during which Douglass said he ”do[es] not despair of this country,” and the “doom of slavery is certain.”

Kaepernick’s tweet was accompanied by a video depicting Africans being brought to America in chains and the plight of slaves in colonial times.

Since famously taking a knee during the national anthem before games, Kaepernick has been an outspoken critic of law enforcement and questioned the sincerity of the American ideal of equality.

“Douglass was not anti-American; he was, rightly and passionately, anti-slavery,” Cruz responded.

Black Lives Matter activist, Kaepernick recently sparked controversy after telling Nike to pull out of its Air Max 1 Quick Strike Fourth of July sneaker deal.

The sneaker depicted the Betsy Ross flag, which Kaepernick said was offensive because it was flown during a time that slavery was legal in America.

Cruz has been critical of the decision by Nike and urged the American public to consider all the facts about America’s history with slavery and abolition when deciding what is offensive.