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Elementary choir members take a knee during their performance of the national anthem before MLB game
Two young girls from Seattle’s Mount View Elementary School choir took a knee during their performance of the national anthem on Sunday before the Seattle Mariners vs. Cleveland Indians baseball game. (Image source: Louis Penna Twitter video screenshot)

Elementary choir members take a knee during their performance of the national anthem before MLB game

Two members of an elementary school choir took a knee during their performance of the national anthem before a Major League Baseball game Sunday in Seattle.

Taking a knee during "The Star-Spangled Banner" started more than a year ago as a protest against police brutality and racial inequality. Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, spearheaded the movement that's been a topic of contention across the U.S.

What happened?

Some students from Seattle's Mount View Elementary School performed the national anthem before the Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Indians baseball game, where Ryan S. Clark, a Tacoma News Tribune sports writer, tweeted a photo of the two young girls kneeling next to their standing classmates. The photo caught the attention of numerous media outlets.

President Donald Trump has been outspoken about his disapproval of those who kneel during the anthem.

Louis Penna tweeted a video of the performance that shows the students kneeling.

What did school officials say about it?

Catherine Carbone Rogers, a spokeswoman for Seattle's Highline Public Schools, told the Huffington Post that it was an "individual act by the students."

“Obviously, the school district respects the First Amendment rights of our students,” Rogers said.

What else?

Some news outlets have praised the two girls for taking a knee.

"As we’ve seen in the wake of the Parkland shooting, kids these days are not going to accept being spectators for important discussions regarding the communities in which they live. The future is in good hands," USA Today For The Win wrote.

"A handful of recording artists have kneeled during their national anthem performances at NFL and NBA games over the past year," Yahoo Sports wrote. "Likewise, youth athletes have kneeled before games. But the two young girls who kneeled during their performance at Sunday’s Mariners game are trailblazers, demonstrating that the quest for racial equality and social justice has support from a new generation."

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