It’s interesting how things change over time, huh? One of the by-products of the George Floyd murder and the Black Lives Matter protests over the last month is how the world has come around to agree with the silent protest of former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Back in 2016, the athlete began kneeling during the National Anthem as a protest of police brutality against People of Color, and he was immediately met by people applauding his actions and a large number of people hating him for it. But now, it appears that Kaepernick is once again viewed as part of the right side of history and his actions are viewed as part of the larger story involving systemic racism in the US.
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And now, it appears that Kaepernick has teamed up with filmmaker Ava DuVernay and Netflix to help bring his story to life in a new TV series titled “Colin in Black & White.” But according to Netflix, the series won’t focus on his life as a professional athlete. Instead, the scripted series will take a look at his formative years in high school that helped fuel his actions as an activist today. You see, before he was an NFL quarterback, Kaepernick was a young Black kid adopted by a white family struggling with his identity and associated issues.
“With his act of protest, Colin Kaepernick ignited a national conversation about race and justice with far-reaching consequences for football, culture and for him, personally,” said DuVernay. “Colin’s story has much to say about identity, sports and the enduring spirit of protest and resilience. I couldn’t be happier than to tell this story with the team at Netflix.”
Kaepernick added, “Too often we see race and Black stories portrayed through a white lens. We seek to give new perspective to the differing realities that Black people face. We explore the racial conflicts I faced as an adopted Black man in a white community, during my high school years. It’s an honor to bring these stories to life in collaboration with Ava for the world to see.”
“Colin in Black & White” is written by Michael Starrbury, who is one of the writers for DuVernay’s Netflix series “When They See Us” and is also attached to the upcoming film “The Come Up.” DuVernay is an executive producer on the series, alongside Starrbury and Kaepernick.
“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,” said Cindy Holland, Vice President, Original Content for Netflix. “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.”
It’s unclear when “Colin in Black & White” will debut on Netflix, but the streaming service revealed that the scripts are already written, so it could be going into production sooner than we might expect.