What a Hero: Kaepernick Raises Money for Group Named After Cop Killer

It’s been interesting to watch many of Colin Kaepernick’s defenders try to normalize him for the sake of the American public. You hear it all the time, Hollywood liberals and others assuring us that Kaepernick’s decision to kneel for the national anthem never had anything to do with patriotism or the flag or the national anthem, even when he has told us in his own words that it has everything to do with that. They’re so desperate to make him seem like, you know, the guy next door that you might have over for a BBQ. Just an ordinary, everyday guy who felt compelled to take a stand (or take a knee, in any case) for the brutal police violence being visited upon his African-American brethren. Who could get angry about such a thing?

They don’t like to talk about Kaepernick’s true beliefs and motivations, which are considerably more radical and sinister, and have much more to do with his absence from the NFL than his mere decision to kneel for the anthem. This guy is a blight on society, a black mark on the League, and we would not be surprised if, in a few years’ time, his place in history is defined by something much more destructive than the anthem kerfuffle.

On Friday, Kaepernick announced that he had successfully raised $20,000 for a group called Assata’s Daughters, which is named for convicted cop-executioner Assata Shakur, currently hiding from American justice down in Cuba. Thanks to matching donations from comedian Hannibal Buress and actress Yara Shahidi from TV’s Black-ish, Kaepernick was able to wrap up his so-called Million Dollar Pledge.

Now we’ve got no beef with anyone trying to raise money for a good cause. And we’re not even going to deny that there are groups with auspicious ideologies that do good work under that umbrella. But we can’t idly watch as a group that commits itself to carrying “on the tradition of radical liberatory activism encompassed by Assata Shakur” slides under the radar just because they call themselves a charity. They aren’t out there feeding the poor. Their mission is purely racial, purely socialist, and unbelievably radical. Their work in Chicago is the last thing that city needs.

“In our direct action organizing, we bring Chicagoans together to address the many injustices in our city and the world,” said the group. “We organize for abolition: of the police, prisons, and all other forms of anti-blackness. Collectively, we work to build up alternative institutions and the means for self-determination.”

Blacks in the inner city don’t need radical groups reinforcing their instinct to despise “the system.” They need groups that want to get them OUT of the violent cycle that they were born into. Assata’s Daughters is not that group, and Kaepernick’s association with them is yet more evidence that the NFL teams that declined to sign him were making a wise choice.