Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback-turned-social justice activist, co-edited and wrote an essay for a new book, “Our History Has Always Been Contraband: In Defense of Black Studies,” which is set to be released on the Fourth of July.
Kaepernick recently talked about the book with The New Republic and about working with “two of the most prominent Black Marxists” – Robin D.G. Kelley and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor. He praised the two writers and hoped the new book challenges readers’ thinking about capitalism.
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Colin Kaepernick attends the “BOSS X NAOMI – Naomi Campbell’s Birthday Party” – hosted By Daniel Grieder during the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival at Villa Julia on May 22, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Sylvain Lefevre/Getty Images)
“I’ve long admired Keeanga and Robin’s work as well as their uncompromising political analysis and understanding that Black liberation simply isn’t possible under capitalism,” he told The New Republic. “I think the anthology makes this argument quite well, and I hope it challenges readers to see that racism is not white supremacy’s only ingredient. White supremacy persists in part because of its relationship with capitalism, heteropatriarchy, ableism, and so on.”
Kaepernick started a firestorm when he protested during the national anthem when he was with the 49ers. He knelt for “The Star-Spangled Banner” to bring awareness to what he called social injustices in the U.S. He parted ways with the 49ers after the 2016 season.
Since then, he has been at the forefront of social activism, calling for the abolishment of the police and prisons as well as likening the NFL Draft to a slave auction. He accused NFL owners of blackballing him from the league, and after the two sides settled, his two tryouts in front of scouts failed to yield a contract with a team.
Colin Kaepernick attends the NBA game between the Toronto Raptors and the Boston Celtics at Scotiabank Arena on Dec. 5, 2022 in Toronto. (Cole Burston/Getty Images)
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The outlet then asked about his political thinking nowadays.
“The evolution of my thinking comes from a combination of elevating my own political education by reading the works of Black radical thinkers and being in conversation with Black radical organizers,” he said. “These are the types of experiences that helped to inform the work and political framework of Know Your Rights Camp, a nonprofit organization I co-founded in service of building power in our communities.”
Kaepernick was also asked about the GOP’s “obsession with attacking Black studies.” The former quarterback said he did not think it was an “obsession.”
Colin Kaepernick participates in a throwing exhibition during half-time of the Michigan spring football game at Michigan Stadium on April 2, 2022 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Jaime Crawford/Getty Images)
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“Black Studies and, more generally, a critical engagement with U.S. history, threatens the white supremacist status quo,” he explained. “Any attempt to whitewash the past should actually be understood as a concrete step toward fascism and a desire to build a nation state where power is concentrated in the hands of a self-anointed (read: white) few. That said, I wouldn’t characterize GOP attacks on Black Studies as an “obsession” but rather as core to their white supremacist political project.”
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