Kenny Stills gets elaborate Black Lives Matter tattoo honoring civil rights protesters
Kenny Stills is rarely shy about speaking out on issues of social justice.
Now the Houston Texans wide receiver is letting his ink speak for him.
Stills showed off an intricate new tattoo on his Instagram page Tuesday. The art takes up space on the entirety of the right side of his right leg and pays tribute to civil rights and social justice protestors past and present.
The lower segment of the tattoo recreates protest signs reading “say their names” and “stop killing us” in reference to cries against police brutality that’s led to the repeated death of Black citizens at the hands of law enforcement.
The middle segment of the tattoo features protestors fighting school segregation in St. Louis, an apparent nod to civil rights protests in Missouri coordinated by the NAACP that gained traction in the 1940s and 1950s.
The upper portion features a silhouette holding a sign reading “Black Lives Matter,” the rallying cry of the contemporary social justice movement.
Stills’ history of taking a stand
Stills has a history of taking visible social justice stances. While a member of the Miami Dolphins, Stills challenged team owner Stephen Ross for arranging a campaign fundraiser for President Donald Trump in 2019.
He used his Twitter account to contrast the mission statement of a non-profit run by Ross calling for an end to discrimination while pointing to Ross supporting the man who led the political charge against Colin Kaepernick’s social justice protests.
🤔 You can’t have a non profit with this mission statement then open your doors to Trump. https://t.co/sNBWfEXvLn pic.twitter.com/nNkRf2wJep
— Kenny Stills (@KSTiLLS) August 7, 2019
The two eventually met face-to-face and “agreed to disagree” on their differences.
Stills has also regularly taken a knee during the national anthem during his time with the Dolphins and the Texans.
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