Colin Kaepernick claimed “white supremacy” still exists today partially due to “capitalism” in an interview with The New Republic published Monday.
Kaepernick, a former NFL athlete and activist, discussed the new anthology he co-edited with Robin D.G. Kelley and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, two prominent black Marxists, titled “Our History Has Always Been Contraband: In Defense of Black Studies,” which “makes the case that Black Studies is a crucial tool in fighting back against a white supremacist political agenda,” according to The New Republic. Kaepernick explains in the interview that capitalism is partially responsible for the perpetuation of “white supremacy” and “heteropatriarchy.” (RELATED: Biden Says Juneteenth Is About Not ‘Banning’ Books)
Kaepernick said that he has “admired” Taylor and Kelley for their position “that Black liberation simply isn’t possible under capitalism.”
“I think the anthology makes this argument quite well, and I hope it challenges readers to see that racism is not white supremacy’s only ingredient,” Kaepernick said about the book. “White supremacy persists in part because of its relationship with capitalism, heteropatriarchy, ableism, and so on.”
SANTA CLARA, CA – OCT. 02: (L-R) Eli Harold #58, Colin Kaepernick #7 and Eric Reid #35 of the San Francisco 49ers kneel on the sideline during the anthem prior to the game against the Dallas Cowboys at Levi’s Stadium on Oct. 2, 2016 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
The book includes essays from Kaepernick, as well as several other prominent individuals such as activist and University of California, Santa Cruz professor Angela Davis and sociologist and historian W.E.B. Du Bois, on the topics of “feminist theory, queer studies, abolition, reparations, education, history, and more,” according to The New Republic. When asked about his previous comments about Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ crackdown on books on Critical Race Theory and gender for elementary and high school students, Kaepernick said that black studies “threatens the white supremacist status quo.”
“Any attempt to whitewash the past should actually be understood as a concrete step toward fascism and a desire to build a nation-state where power is concentrated in the hands of a self-anointed (read: white) few,” Kaepernick said. “That said, I wouldn’t characterize GOP attacks on Black Studies as an ‘obsession’ but rather as core to their white supremacist political project.”
Kaepernick also said that black studies are not designed to “make students feel guilty,” but that they are “an absolute necessity” for white people to learn how to truly support black freedom without doing more “harm.”
Kaepernick did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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