February 6, 2019 at 1:25 pm
DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — A 10-year-old boy who took a knee during the Pledge of Allegiance at Monday’s city council meeting in Durham, North Carolina, apparently won over the mayor. But not everybody was happy about it.
Liam Holmes dropped down on his knee at the start of Monday night’s meeting. Holmes is part of Cub Scout Pack 451, which was invited to lead the pledge.
“What I did was took a knee against racial discrimination, which is basically when people are mean to other people of different colors,” he told told WNCN.
His dad, Scott Holmes, said he talked to Liam about it beforehand, but he wasn’t sure if he’d follow through.
“When he did it I was really surprised and also really proud of him,” Holmes said.
“No one saw it except the people who were watching. And the mayor noticed and he thanked me,” Liam said.
“Thank you, councilman, and thank you, scouts. To the scout that expressed his conscience by kneeling, we will say we endorse and appreciate all expressions of conscience in Durham City Council,” Mayor Steve Schewel said.
Not everyone shared that opinion.
SANTA CLARA, CA – OCTOBER 23: Eli Harold #58, Colin Kaepernick #7 and Eric Reid #35 of the San Francisco 49ers kneel for the anthem prior to the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Eli Harold;Colin Kaepernick;Eric Reid
“It just blew my mind that this was Cub Scouts and politics,” said Brandon LaRoque, a lifelong scout and veteran.
“Part of the scout oath is to God and your country, and I understand people have the right to freedom of speech. I just don’t understand why it has to be during the Pledge of Allegiance,” LaRoque said.
Liam was asked what he’d say to people who didn’t approve of what he did.
“Well, those people just don’t listen,” he said.
Liam says he plans to take a knee again in the future, hoping that people will eventually listen and be a little nicer to one another.
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