To celebrate his 32nd trip around the sun, activist and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick gave back to his community by aiding and feeding homeless people throughout Oakland, California.

His nonprofit organization, Know Your Rights Camp, shared a video of Kaepernick passing out food, toiletries, Nike gear and other items to neighborhoods throughout Oakland. According to TMZ, his girlfriend and HOT97 on-air personality Nessa Diab joined him in his humanitarian efforts.

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#RP @ravisionmedia: This is how Kap brought in his birthday today ❤️ Giving back ✊???? Happy birthday, @kaepernick7!! #imwithkap

A post shared by Know Your Rights Camp (@yourrightscamp) on Nov 3, 2019 at 4:19pm PST

This is not the first time that Kaepernick has participated in civic engagement for his birthday. In 2016, he kicked off his nonprofit’s first program by educating minority kids on their rights during police encounters.

While the athlete-turned-activist continues to advocate on behalf of people from marginalized communities, his agent told the press in October that he is still primed and ready to return to the league.

Kaepernick, who began kneeling in protest of racial injustice and police brutality during the NFL games in 2016, has not suited up for a game in three seasons. Though he has been blackballed from the football league, Kaepernick has continued “working out five days a week, for three years, in preparation to play again,” his team told HuffPost.

Nevertheless, the former NFL star has risen above critics’ expectations, becoming an icon for younger generations. On Tuesday, the Know Your Rights Camp Instagram page shared an excerpt from the San Francisco Chronicle’s article, titled, “Colin Kaepernick under the radar, but flying high with a boost from NFL.”

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THIS ❤️ Via sfchronicle.com: On Sunday — while the NFL games were in progress, including the Raiders’ win over Detroit at the Coliseum — Kaepernick strolled through a homeless tent city in Oakland. He handed out backpacks filled with snacks and personal supplies. He brought in a food truck. By the way, Sunday was Kaepernick’s 32nd birthday. A Scorpio. I looked it up: passionate, independent, and unafraid to blaze their own trails no matter what others think. Kaepernick’s visit to Oakland got zero media attention. Once again, he forgot to alert the TV and newspaper people to a great photo op. Blew a chance to grow his brand. TMZ got and posted some amateur video of Kaepernick hanging with the people. Other than that, he flew way under the radar. He does not media-ize his Know Your Rights camps for inner-city kids, nor his contributions to numerous grass-roots organizations. This is very confusing to the haters who say Kaepernick’s kneel-down protests were all about calling attention to himself. Even if — perish the thought! — Kaepernick were to get another job in the NFL, he would continue his charity stuff and social work. But thanks to the NFL, the onetime hero to 49ers fans has become a folk hero to the folk who have few heroes. He is a cheerleader to those who don’t have much to cheer about. The NFL made Kaepernick an outsider, a have-not, a victim of the powerful system — just like the folks to whom he was handing out reverse birthday presents Sunday. Except that Kaepernick does have power. He earned it through his football play, expanded it with his sideline protests, and got it boosted when he was branded a leper by the NFL … and an SOB by you-know-who. Kaepernick is not a martyr. Martyrs get killed. The NFL didn’t murder him, just, you know, decided he was not its cup of tea, for 32 different reasons. By shooing away Kaepernick, the NFL supersized him.

A post shared by Know Your Rights Camp (@yourrightscamp) on Nov 5, 2019 at 10:37am PST

Within the article, the columnist emphasizes that by casting Kaepernick aside for his defense of human rights, the NFL only magnified his reach and impact.

“The NFL made Kaepernick an outsider, a have-not, a victim of the powerful system — just like the folks to whom he was handing out reverse birthday presents Sunday,” columnist Scott Ostler wrote. “Except that Kaepernick does have power. He earned it through his football play, expanded it with his sideline protests, and got it boosted when he was branded a leper by the NFL … and an SOB by you-know-who.”

Since 2016, the former quarterback has collaborated with Nike for an ad campaign, subsequently winning a creative Emmy for Best Commercial, beating out category competitors like Apple and Netflix. Last year, he was also honored with the W.E.B Du Bois Medal at Harvard University.

Humanitarianism

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