---
title: "Colin Kaepernick — AP African American Studies Definition"
description: "Colin Kaepernick is the NFL quarterback who knelt during the anthem in 2016 to protest police brutality, continuing the athlete-activist tradition in Topic 4.19."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/colin-kaepernick"
type: "key-term"
subject: "AP African American Studies"
unit: "Unit 4"
---

# Colin Kaepernick — AP African American Studies Definition

## Definition

Colin Kaepernick is the NFL quarterback who began kneeling during the national anthem in 2016 as a peaceful protest against police brutality and racial injustice, continuing the tradition of Black athlete activism (like Muhammad Ali and Tommie Smith and John Carlos) covered in Topic 4.19.

## What It Is

Colin Kaepernick was a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers who, in 2016, started kneeling during the pre-game playing of the national anthem. His protest was nonviolent and deliberate. He was using one of the most visible stages in American culture, an NFL sideline on national television, to call attention to [police brutality](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/police-brutality "fv-autolink") and racial inequality. Other athletes across the NFL and beyond soon knelt too, turning one player's gesture into a movement.

For [AP African American Studies](/ap-african-american-studies "fv-autolink"), Kaepernick is not just a sports story. He's the course's twenty-first-century example of a much older pattern. Black athletes have repeatedly used their public platforms to contest [discrimination](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-3/10-hbcu-black-greek-letter-organizations-and-black-education/study-guide/kP0Y57GAauhTajQD "fv-autolink"), from Muhammad Ali refusing induction into the Army in 1967 to Tommie Smith and John Carlos protesting at the 1968 Olympics. Kaepernick shows you that this tradition didn't end with the civil rights era. It's still happening.

## Why It Matters

Kaepernick lives in **[Topic 4.19](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/19-african-americans-and-sports/study-guide/24ZHPg1RpUXznVdn "fv-autolink"), African Americans and Sports**, in [Unit 4](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4 "fv-autolink") (Movements and Debates). He directly supports learning objective **4.19.B**, which asks you to explain how African American athletes in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries have contested discrimination and advocated for racial equality. The essential knowledge for this objective (EK 4.19.B.1) says Black athletes have broken racial barriers and used their public platforms to promote racial equality. Kaepernick is the clearest modern example of that platform-use idea. He matters on the exam because he lets you make a continuity argument, connecting twenty-first-century protest back to Ali, Smith, and Carlos, which is exactly the kind of across-time thinking AP African American Studies rewards.

## Connections

### [Muhammad Ali (Unit 4)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/muhammad-ali)

Ali refused to enlist in the Vietnam War in 1967, saying 'The real enemy of my people is right here.' Kaepernick made the same basic move fifty years later. Both sacrificed career standing to protest [racism](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/1-the-ngritude-and-negrismo-movements/study-guide/eK9QyiGxxk1iteQm "fv-autolink") at home, which is why exam questions pair them as a continuity.

### Tommie Smith and John Carlos (Unit 4)

Smith and Carlos used a nonviolent gesture on a global stage at the 1968 Olympics to protest [racial discrimination](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/18-colonization-and-belonging-in-america/study-guide/nYvYLqQghOZ7QK9T "fv-autolink"). Kaepernick's kneel is the modern echo of that raised fist. Same strategy of silent, symbolic protest in a sports arena, different generation.

### [Jackie Robinson (Unit 4)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/jackie-robinson)

Robinson broke baseball's [color line](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/7-slave-codes-and-landmark-cases/study-guide/LJ3LluHSLHD8k3xj "fv-autolink") in 1947, contesting discrimination by entering a segregated space. Kaepernick shows the next phase. Once Black athletes were inside professional sports, the fight shifted from gaining access to using that visibility to demand justice.

### [Desegregation movement in athletics (Unit 4)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/desegregation-movement-in-athletics)

Topic 4.19 traces an arc from breaking barriers (LO 4.19.A) to advocacy (LO 4.19.B). Kaepernick sits at the far end of that arc, proving the topic isn't just about who got to play but about what athletes did with their platforms afterward.

## On the AP Exam

Kaepernick shows up in multiple-choice questions that test continuity. Stems ask things like which historical tradition of Black activism his kneeling most directly reflects, or which earlier athletes his protest continues. The right answer almost always points to the athlete-activist tradition of Ali, Smith, and Carlos, who used their platforms for nonviolent protest against racial injustice. You should be able to do three things: identify the protest (kneeling during the anthem, starting in 2016), name its target (police brutality and racial inequality), and place it in the longer pattern of Black athletes contesting discrimination under LO 4.19.B. No released FRQ has used Kaepernick by name, but he's a strong twenty-first-century example for any short-answer or essay prompt asking how African Americans have used public platforms to advocate for racial equality.

## Colin Kaepernick vs Tommie Smith and John Carlos

Both are silent, symbolic protests by Black athletes during the national anthem, so they blur together. Keep the details straight. Smith and Carlos raised gloved fists on the medal stand at the 1968 Olympics, an international amateur stage during the civil rights era. Kaepernick knelt on an NFL sideline in 2016, a professional American stage in the Black Lives Matter era. On the exam, Kaepernick is the continuation; Smith and Carlos are part of the tradition he's continuing.

## Key Takeaways

- Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem in 2016 as a nonviolent protest against police brutality and racial inequality.
- His protest inspired other athletes to kneel, turning an individual gesture into a broader movement across professional sports.
- The CED frames him under LO 4.19.B as an example of athletes using their public platform to promote racial equality (EK 4.19.B.1).
- Kaepernick continues the athlete-activist tradition of Muhammad Ali's 1967 draft refusal and Tommie Smith and John Carlos's 1968 Olympic protest.
- Exam questions about Kaepernick almost always test continuity, asking you to connect his 2016 protest to earlier generations of Black athlete activism.

## FAQs

### What did Colin Kaepernick do to protest racial inequality?

Starting in 2016, Kaepernick knelt during the pre-game playing of the national anthem at NFL games as a peaceful protest against police brutality and racial injustice. Other athletes soon joined him, spreading the protest across sports.

### Why is Colin Kaepernick in AP African American Studies?

He's the course's twenty-first-century example for LO 4.19.B in Topic 4.19, which covers how Black athletes have contested discrimination and used their public platforms to advocate for racial equality.

### Was Kaepernick the first athlete to protest racism in sports?

No. He continued a long tradition. Muhammad Ali refused to enlist in the Vietnam War in 1967 citing racism at home, and Tommie Smith and John Carlos staged a nonviolent protest at the 1968 Olympics. Kaepernick's kneel is the modern chapter of that story.

### How is Kaepernick's protest different from Tommie Smith and John Carlos's?

Smith and Carlos raised gloved fists on the Olympic medal stand in 1968, while Kaepernick knelt during the anthem at NFL games starting in 2016. Same strategy of silent symbolic protest, different era, sport, and stage.

### What kind of exam question uses Colin Kaepernick?

Mostly multiple-choice continuity questions, like asking which historical tradition of Black activism his kneeling reflects. The answer connects him to earlier athlete-activists like Ali, Smith, and Carlos under LO 4.19.B.

## Related Study Guides

- [4.19 African Americans and Sports](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/19-african-americans-and-sports/study-guide/24ZHPg1RpUXznVdn)

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