Former NFL quarterback and police brutality activist Colin Kaepernick just signed a multi-publishing partnership with Scholastic to release a children’s book collection from his Kaepernick Publishing company.
Kaepernick, who began kneeling during the national anthem in 2016 in San Francisco to protest incessant police brutality and unfair judicial system, will create an array of children’s books designed to amplify the perspectives of Black and Brown creators and bring diverse narratives to the forefront. The literary themes will cover race, identity and embracing differences.
I Color Myself Different will be the debut book that is slated to hit shelves in April 2022. Illustrated by Eric Wilkerson, I Color Myself Different will tell the story of Colin Kaepernick’s childhood after being adopted by a white family and will center on an incident when he put “down the yellow crayon he had been using to draw his family and picking up the brown crayon for himself.” According to Scholastic, the 40-page book is for children between the ages of four to eight and the reading is “a joyful ode to Black and Brown lives based on real events in young Colin’s life.”
“This story is deeply personal to me and inspired by real events in my life. I hope that it honors the courage and bravery of young people everywhere by encouraging them to live with authenticity and purpose. I’m excited for Kaepernick Publishing to be collaborating with Scholastic on books with Black and Brown voices at the forefront. I hope that our books will inspire readers to walk through the world with confidence, strength, and truth in all they do,” Kaepernick told Forbes.
The Black rights champion has been focusing heavily on his publishing business since his turmoil with the NFL over his silent protesting. In May, he also announced that he’ll be publishing a book called Abolition for the People: The Movement for a Future without Policing and Prisons. The book is about abolishing the police department and prison system as we know them today and making serious overhaul changes. The book was edited by Kaepernick and includes 30 essays including one written by the activist himself.
Scheduled to be released on October 12 in a separate partnership with Melcher Media, the book will also include essays by authors such as Angela Y. Davis, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Mariame Kaba, Robin D.G. Kelley and Bree Newsome Bass.
Check out the book covers below.
