Source: Harry How / Getty
While our
Shardé Gilliam did an amazing job with her piece,
“The Best Natural Hair Moments of The Decade,” there was one special moment that didn’t make her list, an incident that left me shooketh and reminded me while I’m so glad that Twitter is free.
Picture it, Preseason football, San Diego, September 1st, 2016.
Most of us were just chilling at home, watching the game to support
Colin Kaepernick. Remember, at the time he was just gaining press
for taking a knee during the National Anthem as a means to raise awareness
around racism and police brutality in America.
But then he took us by surprise. Out of nowhere, he struts out on the field and debuts one of the most luxurious and picked out afros I’ve seen in a long time!
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Like most natural hair moments before him, his afro wasn’t just about a style, it’s was about something much deeper.
It was about making a statement.
Source: Brett Carlsen / Getty
By rocking his hair out, Kap was telling the detractors, who wanted him to “shut up and play,” “f-you, Ima be on this field, and be Black AF and you can’t do anything about it.”
Man, was it spectacular! So much so, thanks to Twitter user
@MoreAndAgain, it sparked one of the most hilarious hashtags of all time: #KapSoBlack.
Granted, back then we didn’t know that Kap would eventually be blackballed, or a few months later
President Trump would call him a “son of a bitch,” or that he would sue the NFL for collusion for keeping him out of the league. We were trying to pay tribute to him the best Black Twitter knows how…with humor.
But we know now that by standing up for what he believed in ended up costing him so damn much–it cost the game he loves so much. Now, in 2019, his afro also embodies this ultimate sacrifice and his beautiful metamorphosis into a strong Black man.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick told NFL Media in August 2016. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
“I have to stand up for people that are oppressed. … If they take football away, my endorsements from me, I know that I stood up for what is right.”
That he did. Yes, he lost his job, he never lost sight of what matters most, speaking up and our about the importance of Black Lives. So to honor Kap, take a look at some more of his best afro moments:
