Civil Rights Activist & Superbowl Quarterback
Colin Kaepernick: Biography at a Glance
- Colin Kaepernick is a Super Bowl Quarterback who became known for taking a knee during the playing of “The Star Spangled Banner” to bring attention to systemic oppression.
- He has since founded and helped fund three organizations—Know Your Rights Camp, Ra Vision Media, and Kaepernick Publishing—that advance the liberation of Black and Brown people through storytelling, systems change, and political education.
- Kaepernick sits on Medium's Board and is the winner of numerous prestigious honors including Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience Award, the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope honor, and GQ magazine’s “Citizen of the Year.”
- He helped Nike win an Emmy for its “Dream Crazy'' commercial and also released Colin in Black & White, a 6-episode limited series on Netflix exploring his high school years.
- He became a New York Times bestselling author for his acclaimed children's picture book, I Color Myself Different, and his upcoming graphic novel, Colin Kaepernick: Change the Game, will release this year.
Videos
Biography
Super Bowl Quarterback Colin Kaepernick, and holder of the all-time NFL record for most rushing yards in a game by a quarterback, took a knee during the playing of “The Star Spangled Banner” in 2016 to bring attention to systemic oppression — specifically police terrorism — against Black and Brown people. For his stance, he has been denied employment by the league to this day.
Since 2016, he has founded and helped to fund three organizations—Know Your Rights Camp, Ra Vision Media, and Kaepernick Publishing—that together advance the liberation of Black and Brown people through storytelling, systems change, and political education.
Kaepernick sits on Medium's Board and is the winner of numerous prestigious honors including Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience Award, the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope honor, GQ magazine’s “Citizen of the Year,” the NFL’s Len Eshmont Award, the Sports Illustrated Muhammad Ali Legacy Award, the ACLU’s Eason Monroe Courageous Advocate Award, and the Puffin/Nation Institute’s Prize for Creative Citizenship. Kaepernick helped Nike win an Emmy for its “Dream Crazy'' commercial and also released Colin in Black & White, a 6-episode limited series on Netflix exploring his high school years. The show won two NAACP Image Awards. In 2022, he became a New York Times bestselling author for his acclaimed children's picture book, I Color Myself Different.
