Colin Kaepernick is GQ’s Citizen of the Year. The last time he was on the cover of GQ was when he was a quarterback on the rise. But this time, he is a powerful symbol of activism and resistance. He started kneeling during the national anthem before NFL games last year as a way to protest police brutality against African-Americans, and it has sparked a resistance seen and heard around the world.
Kaepernick agreed to collaborate with GQ on a special project for their December Men of the Year issue in an effort to “reclaim the narrative of his protest.” He assembled a 10-person team to speak on the subjects of activism, protest, and equality.
The piece also includes images by Martin Schoeller, who photographed Kaepernick in Harlem. The attempt was to recreate the spirit of Muhammad Ali’s anti-Vietnam War protests in the neighborhood during the late 60s.
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