\n\t\t\tTrending on Billboard\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
\n\tFormer NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick and Bruce Springsteen received a new award from the American Civil Liberties Union recognizing contributions to American thought and culture.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\tGo Get In Some \u2018Good Trouble\u2019: All the Activist Groups Bruce Springsteen Has Backed on His Land of Hope and Dreams\u00a0Tour\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\n\tKaepernick and Springsteen were honored Friday night (July 24) with the ACLU Ralph Ellison Award for Defenders of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in the Arts, Business, Science and Sports. The honor comes a decade after Kaepernick knelt during the national anthem in protest against police violence and racial inequality.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe know our civil liberties are under attack, we know humanity is under attack, education is under attack. They are trying to encroach on our rights, encroach on our dignity, encroach on the future that we want to build together,\u201d Kaepernick said in his acceptance speech at the event in Washington, D.C. \u201cWhen we look back at this moment, it will not be the speeches that change the direction of history. It\u2019s going to be whether we decided: Are we going to build the schools or not? Are we going to defend the rights of others, or are we going to watch? Are we going to build community together, or are we going to stand in isolation?\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThe consequences of these decisions are going to be the reality that the future generations inherit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tKaepernick was joined in protest by teammate Eric Reid and others, but he also drew criticism from politicians, team owners and other players. Kaepernick and Reid filed collusion grievances against the NFL in 2017, saying they were blacklisted. They reached a settlement in 2019.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cHe demonstrated in real time the price America too often exacts from those who challenge racial injustice,\u201d said Deborah Archer, the ACLU\u2019s president. \u201cHis peaceful protest was met with extraordinary personal sacrifice. He lost the career he spent his life building. He became the target of criticism, hostility and relentless public attack, and yet he never retreated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tSpringsteen \u2014 who closed the event with a solo rendition of\u00a0\u201cStreets of Minneapolis\u201d\u00a0\u2014 and Kaepernick were honored as part of an awards ceremony hosted by actress Laverne Cox.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s important for us to recognize all of the people who are contributing to the fight to protect civil rights and civil liberties,\u201d Archer said. \u201cThose folks \u2014 actors, athletes \u2014 these folks have all shown up in incredibly powerful ways.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tSpringsteen\u2019s performance of \u201cStreets of Minneapolis\u201d was uploaded to his official YouTube channel. Watch it below.<\/p>\n [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/awards\/bruce-springsteen-colin-kaepernick-aclu-awards-2026-1236303038\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/bruce-springsteen-aclu-awards-july-24-2026-billboard-1800.jpg?w=1024″] Trending on Billboard Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick and Bruce Springsteen received a new award from the American Civil Liberties Union recognizing contributions to American thought and culture. Related Go Get In Some \u2018Good Trouble\u2019: All the Activist Groups Bruce Springsteen Has Backed on His Land of Hope and Dreams\u00a0Tour Katy Perry […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[48,226],"class_list":["post-2062166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-billboard-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2062166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2062166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2062166\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2062166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2062166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2062166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Billboard](\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/2HpFicp.png\")
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