NASCAR Official Kirk Price Took a Knee During the National Anthem — Meet Him

NASCAR technical inspector Kirk Price took a knee and raised his right fist during the invocation before Sunday's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

"I come from humble beginnings and I believe in humble protesting," the 49-year-old African American told The Charlotte Observer.

For three years, Price served on active duty in the U.S. Army. He continued kneeling while at the same time saluting the flag during the National Anthem.

ALREADY WITNESSED THINGS

Price said that he wasn't thinking any other individual and that he'd already seen things through what's happening in the world as they speak.

"I could only think about 'What can I do to make the world a better place?'" he told The Charlotte Observer. "To where this gets out to where people can understand."

His action was among numerous before Sunday's race by NASCAR tending to social prejudice. Prior to the race, NASCAR Cup Series driver Bubba Wallace sported a T-shirt that read "I can't breathe" and "Black Lives Matter" over his uniform.

"I CAN'T BREATHE"

When George Floyd passed away on May 25 after a former Minneapolis cop pinned him down by putting a knee on the back of Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes, his final words were "I can't breathe."

NASCAR drivers met up recently to make a video that denounces racial inequality and racism. The video was released before Sunday's race.

Confederate flags didn't trouble him at first. However, after educating himself, he perceives how uncomfortable it makes people.

In an interview, Wallace disclosed to CNN's Don Lemon that nobody should feel awkward when they go to a Nascar race.

"It starts with Confederate flags," Wallace, the first full-time African American driver in the Cup Series since 1971, added. "Get them out of here. They have no place for them."

CONFEDERATE FLAGS

According to Wallace, Confederate flags didn't trouble him at first. However, after educating himself, he perceives how uncomfortable it makes people.

As reported by PEOPLE, at present, Wallace ranks 22 in the 2020 cup standings. He has ten starts, two top 10s, and 170 points on the year up until this point.

Meanwhile, a lot of celebrities, including Ben Affleck, supported the protest after Floyd died at the hands of the police.

Affleck and his current girlfriend, actress Ana de Armas, tuned in to protesters at the Save Venice march in Venice Beach, California. The actor carried a sign indicating support for Black Lives Matter and another for Save Venice.