Eight Years After Essay on Racism Gathered National Attention, Alex Hosey Weighs in on East Lansing’s Challenges

Eight years ago, East Lansing High School freshman Alex Hosey received national attention for his essay called “Why I Sit,” explaining why he chose not to stand during the National Anthem before high school basketball games. 

Hosey, who is Black, highlighted racist housing laws and practices that kept people of color from purchasing homes in East Lansing until the late 1960s, discrimination his own family faced and the faults of a color-blind approach to race. 

His essay triggered an apology from the City Council for “the City’s historic complicity, and reflection upon its present and future objectives, policies and education related to the protection of all individuals against discrimination and harassment because of their race, color, or national origin.”

On Friday, Hosey, now 23 and a Michigan State University student, spoke with East Lansing Info about recent events in the city that have drawn criticism from the local NAACP branch and other advocates for racial equity. 

“What I’ll say is that when it comes to how I view the world,” he said, “I try not to base the way that I interact with anyone just because of somebody’s ideology. That’s kind of how I try to live. I try to live on a person-by-person basis, though there are infrastructures and systems in place that want to tempt me, or tempt anybody, into thinking of things as groups. I try to go person to person and try to give anyone the benefit of the doubt until I get to know them more deeply.”

Since August of 2025, ELPD Chief Jennifer Brown has been criticized for comments she made in an interview with WLNS when discussing racial disparities in police use of force. Brown said East Lansing has “a disproportionate number of minorities come into the community and commit crimes,” a statement that has been broadly condemned as racist.

Hosey said he understands the chief’s perspective and the temptation to put people into groups, but there is a difference between empathizing with the chief’s perspective and thinking it was a correct statement, saying there are certain things someone in Brown’s position cannot say.

“Whether you like it or not, you accepted that position,” he said. “And so there’s higher scrutiny that comes with that. The way that you communicate certain things needs to be proper for the position that you hold.”

Additionally, Hosey said the video of the police shooting of Isaiah Kirby gave him pause because, in what he called his “untrained perspective,” he saw some police officers call for nonlethal force once Kirby was on the ground, while others continued to shoot.

“I understand their mindset is to just get it done, just go home, just do whatever,” he said. “But others were able to still have that capacity, still have that wherewithal to switch to nonlethal. Because though he may have committed something, though he may have come at them, he wants to go home too.

“There are different things that we can try to enact in order to supplement [the training of the officers], but the number one thing is to try to have not just concern for the safety of oneself, but also compassion for the individual, even though we may not believe — or it may be hard to see in a moment — somebody’s worst day.”

In his essay eight years ago, Hosey remarked that he loved “our police,” writing that his great-grandfather was a law enforcement officer. When asked if he still feels this way, Hosey said that he loves people in general, understanding that the role police play when they put on their uniform requires them to adopt a different mindset as well.

“I don’t agree with every decision that they make, and I know I never will,” he said. “However, I can understand and have compassion for the fact that they’re just human.

“But with humans, there also needs to be accountability. Regardless of the action, regardless of if I do understand, regardless of any of those situations, there’s still some objective reasoning that has to go into assessing certain situations.”

Hosey said he understands that everyone wants order and safety, but safety cannot exist without love and compassion. The ELPD has the additional responsibility of caring for the city’s full-time residents and those who come here to study nine months out of the year.

“It’s a difficult balance, but it’s something that you sign up for when you take on a position like this in a college town,” he said.

Hosey, who encouraged the City Council to apologize for the city’s racist past in his 2018 essay, feels the time is ripe for action now.

“All I can say for them is to think more toward action rather than acknowledgment,” he said when asked if he had any advice for East Lansing leadership. “Acknowledgment is great and all, but that’s the first step, not the last. It takes more action, takes further steps in order to actually implement something that can create change that will last.

“There comes a time where words aren’t enough, where action needs to take place. And if others are not wanting or desiring to do so, then those who are capable need to step up and take action themselves.”

Hosey said young people should focus on becoming the change they want to see, “becoming that person of action.” He said they should become involved in the systems they complain about and make the changes themselves if they don’t see enough action.

Hosey is finishing up his last few classes at Michigan State University this summer. He majored in political science and is considering a future in law after working in the Michigan State Senate and a private law practice.

Wherever life may take him, he said, East Lansing will always be his home.

“My nephew just had his last day of eighth grade and he’s going to the high school,” Hosey said. “I was just in that position, it feels like. Watching that joy, the happiness that he experienced at the school, I want my kids to have that kind of experience. But I also want them to be safe.

“While I’m here, this is my home. This is where I’ve been my whole life. If there are opportunities somewhere else, then so be it. But this will always be my home. I just want the people at home to be safe, to be well, regardless of where I go.”