Source: Elle.com

Rep. Beto O'Rourke, the Democratic nominee running in the 2018 Texas Senate race against Republican Ted Cruz, has taken a stance in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. At a town hall meeting in Houston last week, O'Rourke was asked by an attendee whether he thought NFL players who take a knee during the national anthem are disrespecting the U.S. military and American people. "My short answer is no, I don't think it's disrespectful," O'Rourke responded. He then clarified that it is important to note that, although Americans may have different opinions on this subject, it "makes them no less American to come down on a different conclusion on this issue." The 45-year-old Congressman then further explained his response by referencing the facts, in particular Taylor Branch's Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, a three-volume history of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement.