Activist Colin Kaepernick commemorated the “three year anniversary of the first time I protested systemic oppression” on August 14 via a video that served as a poignant reminder of why he began kneeling.
Today marks the three year anniversary of the first time I protested systemic oppression. I continue to work and stand with the people in our fight for liberation, despite those who are trying to erase the movement! The movement has always lived with the people! ✊? ?: @REL pic.twitter.com/TAqumRfjbi
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) August 14, 2019
He took to social media again on Sunday (August 18) to indirectly address the new partnership between Jay-Z and the National Football League (NFL), of which the rapper said: “I think we’ve moved past kneeling and I think it’s time to go into actionable items.”
While not naming Jay-Z or the deal directly, Kaepernick praised his brothers in the struggle—the Carolina Panthers’ Eric Reid and the Miami Dolphins’ Kenny Stills and Albert Wilson II—for their sustained activism both on and off the field. “They have never moved past the people and continue to put their beliefs into action,” Kaepernick tweeted and posted on Instagram.
My Brothers @E_Reid35 @KSTiLLS @iThinkIsee12 continue to fight for the people, even in the face of death threats. They have never moved past the people and continue to put their beliefs into action. Stay strong Brothers!!! ✊? pic.twitter.com/OQClsZXD5V
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) August 18, 2019
What Kaepernick wouldn’t say, his partner Nessa Diab did. “It’s typical for the NFL to buy different PR looks to cover up their dirt—that’s nothing new,” Diab wrote in a scalding Instagram statement on August 6. “But what is disgusting and disappointing is Jay-Z let them use him.”