Before he knelt during the US national anthem, Colin Kaepernick was an NFL player. In 2016, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback knelt during the national anthem to protest against police brutality and racial injustice. He got fired from the NFL and caused an uproar. Some supported him, while some protested against him.
That incident led to him becoming the face of activism in the U.S.A. Now the former NFL player is collaborating with filmmaker Ava Duvernay to make a Netflix Drama series which will showcase his rise as an activist.
The series which will be in Black & White is titled as Colin. Netflix confirmed that it will document his high school years, which had a major impact on him while growing up.
Kaepernick himself released a statement on this and said :
“Too often we see race and Black stories portrayed through a white lens, We seek to give new perspective to the differing realities that Black people face. We explore the racial conflicts I faced as an adopted Black man in a white community, during my high school years.”
The former NFL player was born to a black father and white mother. He was adopted in Wisconsin by a white couple who moved to California.
Writing on the show got completed in May. It will feature 6 episodes with Kaepernick, DuVernay and writer Michael Starrbury as its executive producers. Colin is going to feature on the series as a narrator.
Ava Duvernay is a known filmmaker who has helmed several acclaimed films such as When They See us, 13th and Selma, each of these films showed oppression against the black people. While Kaepernick is honoured to work with her, the director is elated to work with him too.
As a former NFL player, Kaepernick had helped the 49ers reach the super bowl in 2012. After becoming a free agent in 2017, he filed a grievance case against the league, alleging that teams colluded with each other so that he can’t play in the league. In 2019, he reached an undisclosed agreement with them.
Even though its been more than 4 years since Kaepernick last played in the NFL, he still wants to play. Recently only, NFL’s executive Troy Vincent said about Kaepernick,
“This young man is talented enough to play in the National Football League.”
Let’s see how things unfold, but till then watch this space for more developments.