This a dope idea by Kaepernick and I hope that all the core values and principles, drive our youth in the right directions.
The San Fransisco 49ers quarterback spent his bye week mentoring kids in his free youth camp in Oakland last Saturday called Know Your Rights.
The camp and the kids ’10 rights’ — are inspired by the core principles of the ‘Black Panthers’ — aims to teach kids about various important issues, including higher education, self-empowerment and interacting with law enforcement according to the New York Daily News.
“We’re here today to fight back and give you all lessons to combat the oppressive issues that our people face on a daily basis. We’re here to give you tools to help you succeed,” he told the attendees, according to the Daily News. “We’re going to give you knowledge on policing history, what the systems of policing in America were based on, and we’re also going to teach you skills to make sure you always make it home safely.”
“It’s exciting for me because I see a lot of hope, I see a lot of what is to come,” Kaepernick told The Undefeated. “And if you look at a lot of movements in past history, it started at a youth level and has built. And that’s really where change is created, is when youth come up and they’re built in that culture of, ‘I know what this means, I know why this is happening and I also know how to help create change now.’”
Kaepernick told The Daily News that he has plans to expand Know Your Rights Camp to cities outside of the Bay Area.
“What we’ve done here today in Oakland, we want to do all over the country, in cities all over this country, by bringing together local leaders, local activists and local youth, and not only giving them the skills and lessons they need, but we want to show them how much we love and value them.”
Kaepernick’s camp staff consists of the quarterback and a small group of volunteers, and they highlight the groups right to be free, healthy, safe and educated.
He’s now doing something on his own time — a request that all of his critics made after blasting the quarterback for his protest over social injustice.