Why Was Santana Booed for Talking About Civil Rights?

Why Was Santana Booed for Talking About Civil Rights?

Why Was Santana Booed for Talking About Civil Rights?

Musician Carlos Santana spoke out at Major League Baseball’s Civil Rights Game in Atlanta against a new law that shreds the civil rights of Georgia’s latino population. The crowd booed him.

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Last month, the Major League Baseball’s annual Civil Rights Game in Atlanta took an inspiring twist when special guest Carlos Santana took a stand for the rights of immigrants in Georgia and across the country. How did the crowd react? By booing the legendary musician.

Just before the game, the governor of Georgia had signed HR 87, a law modeled after Arizona’s SB 1070, that authorizes state and local police the powers to demand immigration papers from people they suspect to be undocumented. When given the microphone, Santana stated, "The people of Arizona, and the people of Atlanta, Georgia, you should be ashamed of yourselves." The cheers turned to boos. The Nation’s Dave Zirin reacts on PBS’s Need To Know to the irony of the crowd booing Santana on Civil Rights Day for talking about Civil Rights.

For Zirin’s piece on the Atlanta game, click here.

—Sara Jerving

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