Colin Kaepernick Completes Million Dollar Pledge
By Nia Langley (@theNiaLangley)
In September 2016, while protesting police brutality by kneeling during the National Anthem, ex-49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick said, “I will donate one million dollars plus all the proceeds of my jersey sales from the 2016 season to organizations working in oppressed communities.” Despite being unemployed by the NFL as a free agent, Kaepernick completed his Million Dollar Pledge on January 3.
The Colin Kaepernick Foundation announced on January 13 that Kaepernick would donate the pledge’s final $100,000 by donating $10,000 to 10 different charities recommended by his celebrity friends with matching donations in what was called his “#10for10” campaign.
Kaepernick and Golden State Warrior Kevin Durant kicked off #10for10 by donating a combined total of $20,000 to Silicon Valley De-Bug, a community-organizing, advocacy, and multimedia storytelling organization in San José, California. The $20,000 will be divided to fund travel stipends for families to visit their loved ones in prison and some of the organization’s other campaigns and projects – the Youth Right to Counsel Public Education Campaign, Community Release Project, and Day in Court Campaign.
NBA Star Steph Curry matched Kaepernick’s $10,000 donation to United Playaz, a San Francisco-based violence prevention and youth development organization.
$10,000 will go toward the organization’s adult reentry mentor program for individuals recently released individuals from incarceration and the other $10,000 will fund a nine-week youth summer program for 150 kids.
Mothers Against Police Brutality (MAPB) received $35,000, as Snoop Dogg added $25,000 to Kaepernick’s $10,000 donation. The Dallas-based multi-racial, multi-ethnic coalition unites mothers nationwide to fight for civil rights, police accountability, and police reform. The money will fund MAPB’s legal defense fund, the Clinton R. Allen day of workshops, and building Voices of Grief – a national network of community activists and families that have lost loved ones to police violence.
Tennis star Serena Williams and Kaepernick both donated $10,000 to Imagine LA. The Los Angeles-based organization is dedicated to mobilizing the community to end the cycle of family homelessness and poverty. $10,000 will go toward Imagine LA’s Family Emergency and Investment Fund and the other $10,000 will go toward its Yetunde Price Resource Center, which has bi-weekly community education mental and trauma sessions and expressive arts sessions for adults and children, respectively, who have experienced homelessness.
Angel By Nature received $20,000 split between Kaepernick and rapper T.I. The nonprofit helps benefit and supply the Houston, Texas community with relief efforts ranging from living conditions, education, to personal health and motivation. The donation will specifically go toward building materials and labor to help re-build neighborhoods destroyed by Hurricane Harvey.
Both Jhene Aiko and Chris Brown matched Kaepernick’s $10,000 donation, giving $30,000 toward Los Angeles-based School on Wheels. The nonprofit provides academic tutoring to homeless children from kindergarten to 12th grade. $15,000 will give 15 homeless students a private tutor for one year, $5,000 will allow 10 students to attend summer camps, another $5,000 will buy tablets for 20 students, and the last $5,000 will buy 50 backpacks full of a year’s-worth of school supplies.
$40,000 went to Communities United By Police Reform (CPR), as Nick Cannon gave $20,000 and Joey Badass matched Kaepernick’s $10,000. CPR is a campaign to end discriminatory policing practices in New York City. $30,000 will go toward the advancement of policy change and legislation, $5,000 will go toward expanding know your rights education and training for encountering the NYPD, and $5,000 will go toward organizing advocacy and strategic communication to support accountability and rapid response for cases of police brutality and abuse.
Meek Mill and Kaepernick each donated $10,000 to Youth Service, Inc. (YSI), a Philadelphia nonprofit that has provided immediate shelter and support services to children, youth, and families for over 65 years. The $20,000 will fund the nonprofit’s Education Resource Center, emergency rent assistance fund, emergency transportation and employment support, and emergency clothing.
Kaepernick’s last donation of the pledge was matched by Usher, giving $20,000 to Helping Oppressed Mothers Endure (H.O.M.E.), Inc. The organization, based in Lithonia, Georgia, provide immediate resources to rebuild, restore, and refurnish homes of single mothers emerging from divorce, domestic violence, or in desperate need of starting over. $12,000 will pay for new mattress sets, $4,000 will pay for insurance and fuel for H.O.M.E.’s delivery truck, and $4,000 will go toward the organization’s warehouse lease.
The #10for10 campaign garnered a lot of praise on social media. Everyday people were inspired to participate in their own version of the campaign, donating $10 to each featured organization.
Hey Kap, how about starting a hashtag for “regular” folks who wish to join in on #10for10? I, pledge to donate $10 to each org in your #10for10. Collectively we can make a difference!! I just donated to Mothers Against Police Brutality and will be doing so for the rest as well.
— Abdullah Mourad (@atmourad) January 23, 2018
Though the pledge has been fulfilled, celebrities still want to give, so Kaepernick launched the #10for10 Encore on February 1. So far, DJ Khaled, Dr. Dre, Nessa Diab, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Jaylen Brown, Kobe Bryant, Zendaya, Steve Stouts, Quavo, and Trey Songz have each donated $10,000 to organizations to which Kaepernick had previously donated.
Colin Kaepernick via his Million Dollar Pledge has donated to 41 charities and nonprofit organizations. This does not include his donation to Somalia famine relief or funding his own Know Your Rights Camp, a free campaign for youth to raise awareness on higher education, self-empowerment, and instruction to properly interact with law enforcement.
“The #MillionDollarPledge was never for me, or about me,” Kaepernick wrote on social media. “It has, and always will continue to be for, and about the people. Perhaps what I’ve learned most is that we can all enact change. Not everyone has to donate monetarily. Some organizations need volunteers and time just as much as they need a donation. We have work to do, and the only way to get it done is if we all work together.”