We Are Free You and Me by Colin Kaepernick and Nessa Diab
This article first appeared in the NY Journal of Books on 3 October 2024.
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“You’re one of a kind with so much to give,
You have the RIGHT TO BE SAFE
and the FREEDOM TO LIVE.”
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In We Are Free, You and Me, illustrator Gladys Jose presents a double-spread, vibrantly colored, simply drawn image of people of all skin colors working, waiting, learning, and playing at a public community center—a setting that is far more recognizable to children from middle- and lower-income families than many of the pictures found in children’s books.
We Are Free, You and Me is a rhyming children’s picture book written by Colin Kaepernick and Nessa Diab, cofounders of both Kaepernick Media, a multi-disciplinary media company for Black and brown storytellers, and Know Your Rights Camp (KYRC), a nonprofit for “the liberation and well-being of Black and brown people.”
Kaepernick was the San Francisco 49er’s quarterback who, in 2016, began to sit down and then kneel during pre-game productions of America’s national anthem to call attention to the racial inequality and police brutality enabled by the country. This simple act started a movement akin to #MeToo and #ICantBreathe, and the controversial aftermath pushed Kaepernick from professional athlete to full-time American civil rights activist.
We Are Free, You and Me is Kaepernick’s second children’s picture book, following I Color Myself Different (with Eric Wilkerson), which was published in 2022 and became a New York Times bestseller. The purpose of both books is clear: to empower Black and brown children (and their caretakers) to embrace their differences and to expect and work toward safe and fair treatment.
Sometimes reminiscent of a Hallmark greeting card, the simple verse of We Are Free, You and Me has a couple of soul-speaking moments that call to mind Dr. Seuss’s Oh the Places You Will Go: “If clouds fall upon you, and it’s gloomy and gray, you can weather the storm on your path and not stray.”
Though most of the words are suitable for young readers/listeners, the story uses and reiterates broadly interpretive words like “truth,” “trust,” “freedom,” and “[human] right,” the meanings of which can be difficult for adults to relay, and which should be discussed between child consumers and their caretakers when they read the book together.
Not only are Kaepernick’s children’s picture books thought provoking and fun to read aloud, they are an example of social entrepreneurship of the purest kind, as 100% of their proceeds go to Know Your Rights Camp, which provides over $1.75 million in partnerships and collaborative grants to Black and brown communities as well as all-inclusive camps that are conducted nationwide to educate and empower Black and brown youth to be the change they want to see.
