Colin Kaepernick & Ava Duvernay Team Up For Series About His Teenage Years

Colin Kaepernick & Ava Duvernay Team Up For Limited Netflix Series About His Teenage Years

Ava Duvernay and Colin Kaepernick have joined forces to present a dramatic scripted series, Colin In Black & White, which follows the high school years of young Colin Kaepernick on his way to becoming an American icon.

Ava Duvernay confirmed the news on Twitter. The When They See Us director wrote Monday (June 29th),

This project has been a joy to work on for the last year with @StarrburyMike.  I’ve long been fascinated by how folks become who they are.  The steps we all take to get to ourselves.  When it comes to @Kaepernick7, that story tracks the making of a singular American icon.  #imwithkap

Writer/actor, Mike Starrbury, previously worked with Ava Duvernay on the limited Netflix series, When They See Us, which was released in April 2019. He shared humorous insight on landing the six-episode series for the streaming platform.

In 2016 ex-NFL player, Colin Kaepernick, who had played six seasons as a San Francisco 49ers quarterback, began to kneel during the national anthem as a method of peaceful protest again social injustice and police brutality.

The superstar athlete, who led his team to the the Super Bowl in 2012, was once quoted saying that he sat because the country “oppresses black people and people of color”.  Though several players also began to kneel in protest, Kaepernick soon became the face activism within the NFL and faced scrutiny and criticism before being ousted from the league. Kaepernick has not played professionally in the game since 2016.

In 2019, ahead of the Super Bowl game, celebrities and fans of Kaepernick vowed to stand with him, also hashtagging #imwithkap in support.  Ava Duvernay also joined in and tweeted,

“I will not be a spectator, viewer or supporter of the #SuperBowl today in protest of the @NFL’s racist treatment of @Kaepernick7 and its ongoing disregard for the health + well-being of all its players. To watch the game is to compromise my beliefs. It’s not worth it. #ImWithKap”

I will not be a spectator, viewer or supporter of the #SuperBowl today in protest of the @NFL’s racist treatment of @Kaepernick7 and its ongoing disregard for the health + well-being of all its players. To watch the game is to compromise my beliefs. It’s not worth it. #ImWithKap pic.twitter.com/fNEeke0crs

— Ava DuVernay (@ava) February 3, 2019

#ImWithKap #7Challenge! I am donating $7 to Colin’s Know Your Rights Camp. The number 7 symbolizes Kap’s jersey number. I challenge you to donate $7 to @YourRightsCamp and nominate 7 others to do the same. Go to https://t.co/Bonrfn2Jf2 and click donate. @Kaepernick7 pic.twitter.com/upSma6Hcxs

— Nick Cannon (@NickCannon) February 3, 2019

“I’m no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I’m changing the things I cannot accept” Dr. Angela Davis. #ImWithKap https://t.co/FobilXc7J0

— COMMON (@common) February 3, 2019

Cindy Holland, Netflix’s VP, Original Content, stated,

“We’re proud to bring Colin’s experience and his creative vision to life as he joins Ava to share his powerful story and message with all our members around the world.”

She continued,

 “It is an unparalleled union of two strong and defining voices coming together to tell the story about what it’s like to be Black in America.”

The limited series that will be narrated by Colin Kaepernick himself, and will reportedly put emphasis on his influences and circumstances growing up and being adopted by a white family.

Will you be tuning in when Colin In Black & White launches on Netflix? Let us know in the comments!