Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp renews $1 million commitment to Black and Brown communities
TheGrio...
Kaepernick’s organization is marking a decade since his national anthem protest by directing another $1 million toward community-led organizations.
Ten years after Colin Kaepernick first took a knee during the national anthem, the former NFL quarterback is putting another $1 million toward the communities at the center of his activism.
Know Your Rights Camp, the organization Kaepernick co-founded with his wife, Nessa, announced Aug. 14 that it is renewing its Million Dollar Pledge, committing $1 million to community organizations through monthly grants in 2027.
The announcement comes on the 10th anniversary of the protest that catapulted Kaepernick into the center of a national debate over racial injustice, police brutality and the role of athletes in political protest.
“When I made the Million Dollar Pledge in 2016, I wanted to put resources directly into the hands of the organizations and people doing the work in our communities every day,” Kaepernick said in the announcement. “The last ten years have shown us that community is the real power.”
The first $100,000 of the renewed pledge will be divided among four organizations: 100 Suits in New York City, Eternal Seeds in New Orleans, The Hidden Genius Project in Oakland and the Lower Eastside Girls Club in New York City. Each organization will receive $25,000.
According to KYRC, the grants will support work connected to the organization’s 10 Points, a framework focused on rights including being free, healthy, safe, educated and alive. Funding can be used for areas including legal rights, youth development, physical and mental health, basic needs, economic opportunity, education, technology, art and history.
The renewed pledge builds on Kaepernick’s original $1 million commitment in 2016. That effort supported more than 30 organizations in at least 15 cities, funding everything from police accountability and legal defense to youth development and education.
Kaepernick later completed the pledge through #10for10, donating $10,000 a day for 10 consecutive days. Friends including J. Cole, Stephen Curry and Serena Williams selected organizations to receive matching donations.
KYRC says it has since distributed more than $2.69 million in cash grants nationwide and funded 150 independent autopsies through its Autopsy Initiative for families seeking answers after loved ones die in police or state custody.
For Kaepernick, the renewed pledge represents a continuation of the work that began with one protest — and an effort to put resources behind the communities he says are driving change.