"There is power in symbolism." Those are the words of CNN anchor Don Lemon on athlete/activist Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick smoothly hosted a mini-series biopic on Netflix about his youth as a Black child adopted by White parents in Northern California. It's a fine, well-acted series. Some of my favorite parts of it are when young Colin discovers and embraces his Black cultural roots thanks to friends and acquaintances. One such moment involved food. At home, his mother prepares meals that are very -- shall we say -- middle class suburban. When he enters a home of Black folks, as a guest, and sees the spread the wife has laid out on a table, his eyes shine. He sees down-home soul food. When the wife greets teen Colin and says "Fix yourself a plate," you can just hear his tastebuds shout "Thank you, Black Jesus!"
Now comes a documentary, with Don Lemon as executive producer, that focuses on Kaepernick's adult life, his years as an NFL star and how his taking a knee made him a symbol of American protest against social injustice. It also delves into how his youth as someone who benefited and -- at times -- was under-served culturally as a child of trans-racial adoption effected how some members of the press and millions of members of White America reacted to his protest.
He did not hate America. He was protesting the rash of unarmed Black men being shot and killed by armed cops who claimed that they feared for their lives. I've been living in the Twin Cities area (near Minneapolis) for three years now. GOP politicians and such would bray that Democrats "want to take your guns away!" and have no respect for the 2nd Amendment rights.
Think of Minnesota citizen Philando Castile. A peaceful Black man who admitted to being a gun owner. He was on the passenger side in the front seat of a car driven by his girlfriend. Castile's child was in the back seat. They had committed no crime but were followed by a cop who felt that they were suspicious. The cop stopped them, approached the driver's window and was verbally aggressive. Castile was compliant, speaking in a tranquil tone as if in church, revealing that he was a gun owner and was not reaching for it. However, when he reached to produce identification for the policeman, he was shoot multiple times at close range and killed.
The cop who killed him claimed that he feared for his life. Minneapolis residents of all colors were shaken. Citizens and local news anchors alike. What did not come out in the network news reports of the crime and the court trial in which the cop was cleared of the murder was Castile's reputation here in the Twin Cities, a reputation that had occasionally made local news reports before his death.
Philando Castile was known for his good deeds. He was known for helping others. Did you see the classic film IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE? Remember Jimmy Stewart's character? Well, Philando Castile was like the George Bailey of his Minneapolis community.
Last month, an outdoor weekend event in his memory was held in Minneapolis. Folks of all colors attended and contributed money to the Philando Castile Scholarship fund, started in his honor. That story made local TV news. Philando Castile should be alive today.
And then came the death of George Floyd. A Black man in Minneapolis. Unarmed and killed by a White cop who took a knee to the neck of Floyd and ended his life.
Kaepernick didn't hate America. He didn't hate our flag. He took a knee to protest this repeated social injustice and the national inaction to stop it.
The powerful, informative documentary is KAEPERNICK & AMERICA. It's a strong exploration of race, privilege, prejudice and responsibility in the country today. It streams on demand starting September 2. It runs 1 hour 20 minutes and it's worth your time. I liked how interviews and footage showed the progression of Colin's life from San Franciso 49ers sports star and sex symbol of sorts (there's a shot of Kaepernick's bare butt as he poses for a sports magazine) to a controversial Black figure of social activism that calls to mind the days of Muhammad Ali. Kaepernick used his sports celebrityhood to tell America that Black Lives Matter.
How many times since the 2014 shooting and killing of unarmed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri have we heard of an unarmed White man being shot multiple times and killed by a Black cop who claimed to have feared for his life and was pretty much cleared of the killing?
Here's a bit of Kaepernick from Netflix's COLIN IN BLACK AND WHITE limited series biopic.
Thanks, Bobby. Great writing. I'll watch the Netflix one soon. And this one when it is released.
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