Ava DuVernay to direct Colin Kaepernick docuseries for Netflix about the years leading up to his iconic NFL protest

Colin Kaepernick famously knelt in 2016 when the US national anthem was played at an NFL game
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Megan C. Hills29 June 2020

Ava DuVernay will direct a documentary series about activist and NFL player Colin Kaepernick, who sparked a national conversation in the US when he began kneeling during the American anthem to protest the injustices faced by Black people.

The series, titled Colin in Black & White, is set to be six episodes long and will focus on Kaepernick’s formative years as an adopted teenager in a white family and how they led to his activism today. The quarterback will also narrate the show, though another (as yet unnamed) actor will portray him in the series.

The documentary will mark another of DuVernay’s partnerships with Netflix, as she released a limited series through the streaming platform called When They See Us (based on the events surrounding the Central Park 5).

Colin Kaepernick kneeling in 2016
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She will be joined by her When They See Us collaborator Michael Starrburry, who will executive produce alongside DuVernay and Kaepernick as well as write the script.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the series’ scripts were finalised in May.

DuVernay said: “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. 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.”

Ava DuVernay
Invision/AP

“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,” Kaepernick said. “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.”

Kaepernick initially began protesting by sitting out the national anthem, then later began famously knelt during the national anthem in 2016 at an NFL football game. Speaking to NFL Media at the time, he said, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of colour.”

Colin Kaepernick kneeling with his teammate Eric Reid in 2016
Getty Images

“To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder,” he continued.

His teammate Reid, who also began to kneel alongside him, explained: "We chose to kneel because it's a respectful gesture. I remember thinking our posture was like a flag flown at half-mast to mark a tragedy.”

Following his protest, the NFL, its players and the US at large were divided on the issue as some began to kneel with Kaepernick in support of the Black Lives Matter movement as figures such as President Donald Trump criticised the move for seemingly disrespecting the American flag.

The NFL introduced a fine for teams if players knelt during the anthem in 2018 and Trump said: “Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a b***h off the field right now, out, he's fired. He's fired.' That's a total disrespect of our heritage. That's a total disrespect of everything that we stand for."

Kaepernick filed a lawsuit against the NFL in 2017 which claimed he had been blacklisted after kneeling during the national anthem, but the suit was later settled out of court in 2019.

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