ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A local middle school student took a knee while singing the National Anthem at a recent volleyball game, and she wants to share why.

Chloe Nixon, 13, is an eighth grader at Tony Hillerman Middle School on the Westside. She’s a talented young lady who sings, writes her own songs, jams on the guitar and plays the violin, too.

On Wednesday during her school’s volleyball game, she sang the National Anthem. While she did that, she took a knee. It’s a trending movement, particularly among athletes, started by San Francisco 49’s player Colin Kaepernick.

Chloe’s singing was captured on camera by her dad, Eric Nixon.

“I feel lately, the way black people have been treated — that it’s not what this country is,” Chloe told KRQE News 13.

Chloe is referring to recent controversial race issues, like the police shootings of black men.

Kaepernick’s move, that Chloe was inspired by, has been widely criticized. KRQE News 13 asked Chloe about responding the criticism she expects to receive from doing this.

“You can either be quiet and not make a difference, or you can make a difference and have people criticize you,” she said. “If you want to make a change in this world you have to speak out no matter what people say.”

Chloe first ran the idea to kneel by mom, Aana Pearson and her dad, Eric Nixon.

“I think it’s really important and I’m very proud of her for what she did,” Pearson said. “The fact that she knew this was a controversial issue and still went ahead and went ahead with doing this makes me even more proud of her.”

“I was OK with it because I felt that she really understood the impact of what she was doing,” Nixon, said.

One of the biggest criticisms of people kneeling during the anthem is that it’s disrespectful to our military. Chloe says she doesn’t see it that way and doesn’t intend for it to be disrespectful. Rather, she says, she sees it as respectful to our military members who fight to protect her right to this kind of freedom of expression.

Nixon, who says he is an Air Force veteran, agrees with his daughter on that. He also says this peaceful protest is about enhancing our country — not taking from it — and that all lives matter.

“I think that everyone deserves to be listened to no matter what age, race, everyone is a human being,” Chloe said.

When Chloe finished “…and the home of the brave” on Wednesday night, the crowd roared.

Chloe says she plans to do it again at another volleyball game next week.