An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity. -Martin Luther King Jr.

Colin Kaepernick is living.  Became a fan of Kaepernick not because of his football skills but because of his anthem protest. TBH, didn’t know who he was until then.   He got hell, football fans were pissed:  How dare he use his position to call attention to the plight of PoC, whose human rights were violated and abused daily?  How dare he publicly  acknowledge police brutality? Or that #BlackLivesMatter?

In support, I decided to sit during the anthem at football games.  While it felt odd as everyone around me stood and some displayed disapproval,  it was liberating to step outside the box of hypocrisy.

Initially, was disappointed  when I read  his Know Your Rights Camp’s Ten-Point Program.  How were granola-bar rights going to help underprivileged  kids with police encounters? Several days later the light bulb went on, these were basic human needs.

For many inner city underprivileged kids, such basic human needs were lacking and not a given. Food, shelter, health and a sense of safety were daily challenges and unmet needs.  Many don’t  know they deserve to be loved and nurtured.

Inspired by the Black Panthers’ “Ten-Point Program” (per the Daily News), Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights (per Washington Post):

1. You have the right to be free.

2. You have the right to be healthy.

3.  You have the right to be brilliant.

4.  You have the right to be safe.

5.  You have the right be loved.

6.  You have the right to be courageous.

7.  You have the right to be alive.

8.  You have the right to be trusted.

9.  You have the right to be educated.

10.  You have the right to know your rights.

Know Your Rights Camp