Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick will edit and publish a book of essays arguing for the abolition of police and prisons in October, featuring contributions from a number of radical racial justice activists including convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal.
“Abolition for the People: The Movement for a Future Without Policing and Prisons” is the debut title from the NFLer’s own publishing house, Kaepernick Publishing.
“After months of hard work, we’re excited to announce that we’ll be publishing our first title, ABOLITION FOR THE PEOPLE: THE MOVEMENT FOR A FUTURE WITHOUT POLICING & PRISONS, on 10/12/21. This anthology is edited by @Kaepernick7 & features the contributions of over 30 writers,” Kaepernick Publishing announced on Twitter. The book represents a “collective journey toward building a better world — a world without and beyond policing and prisons,” the outlet added in its official release.
After months of hard work, we’re excited to announce that we’ll be publishing our first title, ABOLITION FOR THE PEOPLE: THE MOVEMENT FOR A FUTURE WITHOUT POLICING & PRISONS, on 10/12/21. This anthology is edited by @Kaepernick7 & features the contributions of over 30 writers. pic.twitter.com/fj6tuBpYBy
— Kaepernick Publishing (@KaepernickPub) May 11, 2021
“Edited by activist and Super Bowl quarterback Colin Kaepernick, ‘Abolition’ for the People is a manifesto calling for a world beyond policing and prisons. The collection includes over 30 essays representing a broad array of voices and experiences, including political prisoners, grassroots and formerly incarcerated community organizers, scholars, and family members of those killed by the anti-Black terrorism of policing and prisons,” Kaepernick Publishing continued. “Blending rigorous analysis with first-person narratives, Abolition for the People definitively makes the case that the only political future worth building is one without and beyond policing and prisons.”
The book is set to drop in several forms — hardcover, audiobook, and e-book — in October and will reportedly include a contribution from Kaepernick himself.
“The omnipresent threat of premature death at the hands, knees, chokeholds, tasers, and guns of law enforcement has only further engrained its anti-Black foundation into the institutions of policing,” Kaepernick, who is best known for his “anti-police brutality” kneeling protests during NFL games when he was still employed in the league, said, according to TMZ. “In order to eradicate anti-Blackness, we must also abolish the police. The abolition of one without the other is impossible.”
The book features essays from a who’s who of radical racial justice advocates, including Mumia Abu-Jamal, who is still seen as a major force for social justice despite being convicted of the 1981 murder of a Philadelphia police officer. Abu-Jamal was sentenced to death but his sentence was overturned and he is now serving life in prison without parole.
Following his on-the-field protests during the 2016 NFL season, Kaepernick turned down a one-year contract extension with the San Francisco 49ers and has not played professional football since. After leaving the 49ers, Kaepernick sued the NFL claiming that team owners and general managers (and perhaps then-President Donald Trump) had conspired to lock him out of the league; he eventually settled with the NFL for an undisclosed amount of money.
Kaepernick’s name surfaced earlier this week after reports emerged that the Jacksonville Jaguars were considering signing former professional football player Tim Tebow to a one-year contract, with leftists blasting the league — and the Jaguars — for failing to consider Kaepernick instead. But it seems Kaepernick does not need professional football to remain in the headlines or to sustain his lifestyle; the athlete, who frequently speaks favorably about socialist countries and socialist leaders, is reportedly worth more than $20 million per FanBuzz.