President Joe Biden got on one knee when the WNBA champions, Seattle Storm, visited the White House on Monday, Aug. 23, 2021, as a ceremonial gesture in the fight for justice.
Biden was paying homage to the late iconic Congressman John Lewis on the eve of the vote on the John Lewis Voting Rights Act as well as recognizing the upcoming annual commemoration of the March on Washington, according to the Huffington Post.
This was the first visit by a WNBA franchise to the White House in five years.
#SeattleStorm 1st #WNBA team at #WhiteHouse since 2016. 🏀 https://t.co/eyemAwOQiD
— 30 On 30: The House of Champions ♍ (@30_on_30) August 24, 2021
Following the perfunctory pleasantries and jersey presentation, Biden got on one knee during his photo opp with the Storm who won the 2020 WNBA title.
Latasha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, remarked to the HuffPost while the gesture was nice, “we cannot just have symbolic progress.”
Another BVM co-founder, Cliff Albright, told the publication that the focus needs to remain on “passing comprehensive police reform on policy and voting rights.” He also wants the president to understand “that the filibuster has metaphorically had a knee on us for a long time.”
Brown and Albright will participate in the annual March on Washington ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021. The Rev. Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III will also host an activation on the same day that will focus on voting rights and police reforms.
