Posted on Apr 2, 2022
Colin Kaepernick says 'I Color Myself Different' in his first children's book
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https://www.npr.org/2022/04/02/ [login to see] /colin-kaepernick-i-color-myself-different-book
When Colin Kaepernick was five years old, his kindergarten teacher gave his class an assignment: Draw a picture of your family.
Kaepernick colored his entire family yellow. When he got to himself, he used the brown crayon.
"What I realized in drawing my family was that in my entire class, I was the only one who didn't look like the rest of my family," says Kaepernick, who is Black and adopted into a white family.
That simple-seeming assignment turned out to be a pivotal moment for how Kaepernick viewed his identity. It also became the inspiration, many years later, for his first children's book, I Color Myself Different.
In the book, a little boy named Colin reads on the floor, throws a football in the park, and in general thinks it's "supercool" that not many people look like him. "I have supercool skin, supercool hair, and a supercool family," Kaepernick writes. "Sometimes it's not easy, but being one of a kind sure is amazing."
When the kindergarten class gets the assignment, young Colin can't wait to show off his drawing. Until his classmates ask him:
When Colin Kaepernick was five years old, his kindergarten teacher gave his class an assignment: Draw a picture of your family.
Kaepernick colored his entire family yellow. When he got to himself, he used the brown crayon.
"What I realized in drawing my family was that in my entire class, I was the only one who didn't look like the rest of my family," says Kaepernick, who is Black and adopted into a white family.
That simple-seeming assignment turned out to be a pivotal moment for how Kaepernick viewed his identity. It also became the inspiration, many years later, for his first children's book, I Color Myself Different.
In the book, a little boy named Colin reads on the floor, throws a football in the park, and in general thinks it's "supercool" that not many people look like him. "I have supercool skin, supercool hair, and a supercool family," Kaepernick writes. "Sometimes it's not easy, but being one of a kind sure is amazing."
When the kindergarten class gets the assignment, young Colin can't wait to show off his drawing. Until his classmates ask him:
Colin Kaepernick says 'I Color Myself Different' in his first children's book
Posted from npr.org
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Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
...""What I realized in drawing my family was that in my entire class, I was the only one who didn't look like the rest of my family," says Kaepernick, who is Black and adopted into a white family.
That simple-seeming assignment turned out to be a pivotal moment for how Kaepernick viewed his identity. It also became the inspiration, many years later, for his first children's book, I Color Myself Different.
In the book, a little boy named Colin reads on the floor, throws a football in the park, and in general thinks it's "supercool" that not many people look like him. "I have supercool skin, supercool hair, and a supercool family," Kaepernick writes. "Sometimes it's not easy, but being one of a kind sure is amazing."
When the kindergarten class gets the assignment, young Colin can't wait to show off his drawing. Until his classmates ask him:
"Why are you the only brown one in your family?"
"Why did you color yourself different?"
Colin freezes — at first — because he realizes his normal registers as "different" for other people. But then he tells his class:
"I'm brown. I color myself different! I'm me, and I'm magnificent!"
"I love the fact that we have an anthem in there," says Kaepernick, "or a hook. Because it feels like something that young kids can walk away with and can use."...
...""What I realized in drawing my family was that in my entire class, I was the only one who didn't look like the rest of my family," says Kaepernick, who is Black and adopted into a white family.
That simple-seeming assignment turned out to be a pivotal moment for how Kaepernick viewed his identity. It also became the inspiration, many years later, for his first children's book, I Color Myself Different.
In the book, a little boy named Colin reads on the floor, throws a football in the park, and in general thinks it's "supercool" that not many people look like him. "I have supercool skin, supercool hair, and a supercool family," Kaepernick writes. "Sometimes it's not easy, but being one of a kind sure is amazing."
When the kindergarten class gets the assignment, young Colin can't wait to show off his drawing. Until his classmates ask him:
"Why are you the only brown one in your family?"
"Why did you color yourself different?"
Colin freezes — at first — because he realizes his normal registers as "different" for other people. But then he tells his class:
"I'm brown. I color myself different! I'm me, and I'm magnificent!"
"I love the fact that we have an anthem in there," says Kaepernick, "or a hook. Because it feels like something that young kids can walk away with and can use."...
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Brother William STAND FOR SOMETHING OR DIE FOR NOTHING BROTHER!!!!
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Lt Col Charlie Brown SSG Michael Noll Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Cpl Vic Burk MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. SGT (Join to see) PO2 Marco Monsalve SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth ] SSG William Jones Sgt (Join to see) 1SG Dan Capri CDR Andrew McMenamin, PhD SrA John Monette SPC Nancy Greene SGT Mark Anderson SFC (Join to see) SGT James Murphy SGT Damaso V Santana CPL Patrick Rasmussen
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Lt Col Charlie Brown SSG Michael Noll Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Cpl Vic Burk MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. SGT (Join to see) PO2 Marco Monsalve SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth ] SSG William Jones Sgt (Join to see) 1SG Dan Capri CDR Andrew McMenamin, PhD SrA John Monette SPC Nancy Greene SGT Mark Anderson SFC (Join to see) SGT James Murphy SGT Damaso V Santana CPL Patrick Rasmussen
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