Colin Kaepernick’s social consciousness extends far beyond taking a knee during the national anthem. The San Franciso 49ers quarterback is making sure today’s youth are equally as woke about the basic liberties and protections most Americans are deprived of each and every day.
Kaepernick hosted a “Know Your Rights Camp” in Oakland Saturday with more than 100 area kids in attendance. Over the last few months, Kaepernick made it known that he takes issue with the ill treatment of communities of color by police. In his quest for awareness, Kaep uses education as a foundation.
Kaep says the camp took about six months to coordinate, which is long before he made headlines for his silent protest of the national anthem which began a domino effect in the sports world.
The day’s events included several breakout sessions covering a range of topics handpicked by Kapernick including financial success, what to do during interactions with police, college prep, nutrition, self-love and more.
He told The Undefeated, “You have unarmed children being murdered, and you have unarmed adults being murdered. So, it’s affected all ages of people of color, and to try to give them knowledge of how to help de-escalate those situations, even though that shouldn’t be their responsibility.”
As a souvenir, the kid’s walked away with a backpack, a copy of The Autobiography of Malcolm X, plus a free certificate for DNA testing at Ancestry.com.
In addition to free food and pics with Kaepernick, the kids received a t-shirt with 10 rights printed on the back, honoring the Black Panther Party 10-point platform.
These rights were listed on the back of the t-shirts that @Kaepernick7 gave to the kids who attended his Know Your Rights Camp today. pic.twitter.com/JkRv03M4kn
— Crystal Johnson (@Crystal1Johnson) October 30, 2016
And to solidify just how dedicated Kaepernick is to this cause, the event took place during bye week, a time where most NFL players are resting up or strategizing before the next big game. Kaep put in a different kind of work.
“I know what my purpose is,” Kaepernick said in an interview with Mercury News. “I know what my goal is. My conviction in that is strong enough that it doesn’t matter what anybody says because I know it’s right. And the fact that 100 kids would come out here on a Saturday morning, on their free time to do this, early in the morning, that shows that they believe in this, too.”
Earlier this year, Kaepernick announced he would donate $1 million of his earnings to underpriveleged communities. The 49ers announced separately a pledge of the same amount in aims of combating racial and socioeconomic issues in the Bay area.
Take a listen to this clip from Kaepernick’s message Saturday.
Here is the opening to @Kaepernick7 "KNOW YOUR RIGHTS" event for underprivileged youth and homeless in Oakland, Richmond and San Francisco. pic.twitter.com/qn2d51OldM
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpearsESPN) October 29, 2016
Right on, brother.
