Colin Kaepernick among this year's recipients of Harvard's prestigious W. E. B. Du Bois medal
The award is bestowed to notable individuals "in recognition of their contributions to African and African American culture."
ADAM PECK
OCT 12, 2018, 12:21 PM
Two years after first taking a knee on the sidelines of a preseason NFL game during the national anthem in an act of protest against police brutality and institutionalized racism, Colin Kaepernick stood on stage at Harvard University to accept a 2018 W. E. B. Du Bois medal.
The award is administered by the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University, and is generally considered one of the highest honors “awarded to individuals in the United States and across the globe in recognition of their contributions to African and African American culture and the life of the mind.”
Kaepernick was one of eight recipients at Thursday evening’s ceremony, and the only athlete. Since his peaceful protest began, thousands of athletes at every level of competition across the country have staged similar demonstrations on the sidelines before games, often during the national anthem. In response, antagonists listening to racist dogwhistles have sought to falsely portray the protests as disrespectful towards the military, an argument obscured by their simultaneous support for Donald Trump, a draft dodger who has routinely insulted military veterans, attacked Gold Star families, and lied about fallen heroes and their families.
Kaepernick’s protest began in 2016, and was followed a year later by his ostracism from the National Football League. Despite being just 30 years old, with a long track record of success while the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers — including a run to the Super Bowl in 2012 — Kaepernick remains unsigned by any of the 32 teams in the NFL. His league-wide blacklisting led him to file a lawsuit against the NFL arguing that officials and team owners were colluding to keep him out of a job. That lawsuit is still ongoing, despite numerous attempts by the NFL to have the charges dismissed.
https://thinkprogress.org/kaepernick-web-du-bois-medal-c41f978fa31d/
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