Ava DuVernay and Colin Kaepernick team up for new series about his high school years

By now, most of us are familiar with Colin Kaepernick’s work on and off the football field, as both a quarterback and an outspoken activist. But thanks to a new limited series in the works, we’re about to know a lot more about the athlete; specifically, his teenage years.

Joining forces with When They See Us creator Ava DuVernay and Emmy-nominated screenwriter Michael Starrbury, Kaepernick is set to narrate the new six-part project for Netflix. Titled Colin in Black and White, the series will take viewers through Kaepernick’s experience as an adopted Black teenager in a white community navigating a burgeoning athletic career, with a focus on the influences and circumstances that would see him becoming an activist later in life.The pairing of Kaepernick and DuVernay should come as no surprise, as the two are longtime supporters of each others' work, and are among the most sought-after voices in the ongoing fight against systemic racism and police brutality. Following Kaepernick's 2016 protest, where he chose to kneel during the national anthem ahead of a San Francisco 49ers game and was subsequently shunned by the NFL, DuVernay was quick to proclaim her support of the athlete. Just hours before Super Bowl LIII kicked off in February 2019, DuVernay tweeted that she refused to watch the game or support the NFL due to their treatment of the former player.

In a statement to Deadline, DuVernay explained, “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. Colin’s story has much to say about identity, sports and the enduring spirit of protest and resilience."

[video_embed id='1978950']RELATED: Commissioner Roger Goodell says he would like to see Colin Kaepernick back in the NFL[/video_embed]Kaepernick shared his excitement about the new project, noting, “Too often we see race and Black stories portrayed through a white lens." According to the athlete, the limited series seeks to provide a new, much-needed perspective to the differing realities that Black people face, including the racial conflicts he encountered during his high school years. Sharing the news on June 29, he wrote, “I look forward to sharing these moments of my life with all of you!"

It’s been a pleasure working with @ava, @StarrburyMike, and the entire writing team on this project for over a year now.I look forward to sharing these moments of my life with all of you! https://t.co/IBYXQb69OH

— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) June 29, 2020

Following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officers, DuVernay launched the Law Enforcement Accountability Project in early June. The initiative will fund projects including film, theater, music and literature over the next two years through Array Alliance, DuVernay’s nonprofit for diversity in film. The project is off to an impressive start, with a $3 million budget backed by the Ford Foundation and Ryan Murphy, in an effort to “disrupt the code of silence that exists around police aggression and misconduct."

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