Colin Kaepernick pulled back the curtain on his Know Your Rights Camp (KYRC) and revealed what caused him to gravitate toward activism.
Kaep invited Paper Magazine to a KYRC session and explained what motivated him to join the movement. KYRC is a campaign geared toward young people and teaches them how to conduct themselves around law enforcement officials. The camps, which have visited Miami, Baltimore, New Orleans and New York, also promote self-education and empowerment, according to its website.
The camps are a brainchild of the former 49er and his girlfriend Nessa Diab and are summarized by 10 fundamental human rights. It is an offshoot of the Black Panther Party’s Ten-Point Program.
The couple began discussing the concept 10 months before Kaepernick took a knee during a game for the first time.
"The discussion happened shortly after the execution of Mario Woods,” Kaepernick shared.
Mario Woods was a 26-year-old Black man from San Francisco was fatally shot by five police officers in December 2015. Law enforcement was on the scene because Woods was accused of a stabbing, and he was armed with a knife when he died, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. The officers claimed they fired at Woods because they feared he would hurt one of them or bystanders who were standing at a bus stop.
In May 2018, San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón declined to press any criminal charges. Woods’ mother was awarded a $400K settlement from the city in June, according to The San Francisco Examiner.
The death had an indelible impact on Kaepernick. He began to immerse himself in literature.
"If Colin wasn't reviewing a playbook, he was reading a history book," Diab told Paper.
Know Your Rights uses the Black Panther Party as a source of inspiration for its initiatives.
KYRC believes every person is entitled to the following:
You have the right to be Free
You have the right to be Healthy
You have the right to be Brilliant
You have the right to be Safe
You have the right to be Loved
You have the right to be Courageous
You have the right to be Alive
You have the right to be Trusted
You have the right to be Educated
You have the right to Know Your Rights
Kaepernick also wants the movement to be inclusive of every type of person.
“This movement needs all types of people," the 31-year-old explained. "From athletes to healers to poets and artists to scholars and lawyers, we need everyone to contribute to the struggle. The struggle is affecting all of us. Period."
The camp begins at 7 a.m. and lasts for a half-day. It starts with a breakfast provided by a Black-owned business. The meal is another nod to the Black Panthers, who had a free breakfast program. After they eat, attendees are trained to know their legal rights, discuss the history of policing in groups and attend workshops on financial literacy, education and other topics.
Each camper leaves with a bag of goodies including a copy of The Autobiography of Malcolm X, a community resource guide and an AncestryDNA kit.
“The DNA kit is a powerful reminder to the youth that the beginning of their history predates the United States and is not shackled to the institution of slavery,” Kaep said. “The beginning of their history is based in freely thriving African civilizations."
