Twitter CEO and founder Jack Dorsey is donating $3 million to former NFL player-turned-activist Colin Kaepernick’s group Know Your Rights Camp.
Dorsey announced his donation to the group Wednesday along with a series of donations to other organizations as part of his “start small grants” initiative launched in April.
Dorsey said he would be donating $3 million to Kaepernick’s group to “advance the liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities through education, self-empowerment, mass-mobilization to elevate the next generation of change leaders.”
Kaepernick is a former NFL quarterback who played for the San Francisco 49ers. He led a peaceful demonstration starting in 2016 by taking a knee during the national anthem at games to protest police brutality. Following the season, Kaepernick became a free agent and has since gone unsigned.
His protest grew, however, with some athletes across different sports following his lead and demonstrating during the national anthem at games.
Kaepernick announced Wednesday that his Know Your Rights Camp would be expanded to add a national legal defense initiative to “defend arrested Freedom Fighters” amid the protests emerging over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.
“Thx to your support we’ve expanded the @yourrightscamp legal defense initiative nationally to defend arrested Freedom Fighters. We’re also working to file civil rights cases against police for their terroristic acts. Keep fighting back!” Kaepernick tweeted.
Know Your Rights Camp also has a COVID-19 relief fund to help with the pandemic that is disproportionately affecting minority communities.
Dorsey also announced a series of other donations to organizations, many of which are providing aid to people impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. In total, Dorsey said he has awarded $88.5 million in his “start small grants” since announcing the initiative in April.
Dorsey said he would transfer $1 billion into a new foundation, Smart Small Foundation, to support global COVID-19 relief efforts.
So far the tech executive has transferred $88.5 million to various organizations, mostly aimed at fighting the coronavirus pandemic and its impacts, according to a document shared by Dorsey.