Millions of people are hurt and reeling in the aftermath of Donald Trump being elected president, athletes included. J.R. Smith expressed as much in an Instagram post openly wondering where his daughter will fit in a society now so openly set against her, but his teammate LeBron James has taken to the same platform to spread a different message — one of hope and defiance.
Against a black backdrop, James plays Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright,” one of the most powerful protest songs for black Americans in years, and said this as a caption:
As I woke up today looking and searching for answers on what has happened this song hit it right on the head! If we continue the faith(as hard as it may be to do so) we will BE ALRIGHT!! Parents and leaders of our children please let them know they can still change the world for the better! Don’t lose a bit of faith! They’re our future and we must remain stronger than ever!! Yes we all wanna lace up the boots, put on the hard hats and strike but that’s not the answer.
Love, genuine LOVE and FAITH will be the only thing that can get us through this. Minorities and Women in all please know that this isn’t the end, it’s just a very challenging obstacle that we will overcome!! The man above will never put something in our paths that we can[sic] handle no matter how difficult it may feel/be! To all the youth out there I PROMISE I’ll continue to lead u guys every single day without no hesitation!! Time to educate and even more mold my children into being the greatest model citizens they can become in life! They will continue the legacy beyond life! Lastly, Even if whos now in office doesn’t, Know that I LOVE YOU’LL!!!
With the country’s athletes more politically vocal than they’ve been in a generation, we need messages like this from guys like LeBron now more than ever — and hopefully, more of them in the future.
