Netflix series to dramatize Kaepernick’s path to activism

Colin Kaepernick is joining with Emmy-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay on a Netflix drama series about teen roots of former NFL player’s activism. “Colin in Black & White” will examine Kaepernick’s high school years to illuminate experiences that shaped his advocacy, Netflix said Monday.

“Too often we see race and Black stories portrayed through a white lens,” Kaepernick said in a statement. “We seek to give new perspective to differing realities that Black people face. We explore racial conflicts I faced as an adopted Black man in a white community, during my high school years.”

Kaepernick, born to a white mor and Black far, was adopted in Wisconsin by a white couple who moved to California when he was a child. In 2016, San Francisco 49ers quarterback began kneeling during national anm to protest police brutality and racial inequality, drawing both support and criticism, with his detractors including President Donald Trump. Kaepernick became a free nt in 2017 but went unsigned.

Writing by on six-episode series was completed in May, streaming service said. DuVernay, writer Michael Starrbury and Kaepernick are executive producers. Kaepernick will appear as himself as limited series’ narrator, Netflix said.

Furr casting details and a release date were t immediately anunced.

Kaepernick called it an hor to collaborate with DuVernay, whose credits include award-winning “When y See Us,” which dramatized Central Park Five case, and Oscar-minated documentary “13th.”

“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,” DuVernay said in a statement. “Colin’s story has much to say about identity, sports and enduring spirit of protest and resilience.”