Colin Kaepernick is currently collaborating with Ava DuVernay for Colin in Black & White, a series that is bound to unveil the struggles and success that has chosen to give life for the viewers to watch in series at the streaming giant in this generation.
The six-episode series will tell us Kaepernick’s life during his teenage years and will highlight his high school years and the acts and experiences that nurtured him to become the activist he is exactly today. Kaepernick will also be the narrator of his series, which will feature an actor to play the younger version of himself.
Being politically driven and vocal, Kaepernick in 2016 had openly protested racial injustice, police brutality and systematic oppression that continuously happen in the series of injustices ran that year. He kneeled during the national anthem ahead of a San Francisco 49ers game and emphasized his thoughts and act of true patriotism. His act of protest was controversial with both NFL officials and fans, eventually caught the attention of the President Trump, who summoned team owners to dismiss people who made their protest during the national anthem.
Kaepernick quitted and became a free agent for his own freedom and truth in activism last 2017 and filed a lawsuit against the NFL and its owners, for threatening him that they have to silence him or to keep him out permanently. And now, he remains a free agent. Just few weeks ago, in the wake of George Floyd’s killing at the hands of Minnesota police officer, Kaepernick used his voice again and become another figure of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Michael Starrbur will do the script and will be the executive producer together with DuVernay and Kaepernick. Starrbury had worked with DuVernay on Netflix’s Peabody-winning limited series When They See Us, based on the Central Park 5.
“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,” said DuVernay. “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.”
According to Netflix, the drama was constructed in 2019 and accomplished with the completion of the scripts and scenes in May. The streamer gives the hook to follow on the series as offering to reflect and contemplate what Kaepernick’s early life as a Black child growing up with a white adopted family and his never-ending and inspiring to become a great quarterback while using his remaining voice and energy to defend his true roots.
“Too often we see race and Black stories portrayed through a white lens,” said Kaepernick. “We seek to give new perspective to the differing realities that Black people face. 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.”
Colin in Black & White is DuVernay’s latest TV series, following When They See Us, OWN’s Queen Sugar and Cherish the Day. The Netflix series falls outside of her overall deal with Warner Bros. TV Group.
“We’re proud to bring Colin’s experience and his creative vision to life as he joins Ava to share his powerful story and message with all our members around the world,” said Cindy Holland, vp originals at Netflix. “It is an unparalleled union of two strong and defining voices coming together to tell the story about what it’s like to be Black in America.”
