Know Your Rights Camp (KYRC) is a left-of-center education-based organization led by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and his wife Nessa. It was founded with management help from the Entertainment Industry Foundation and is based on radical-left principles espoused by Malcom X and the Black Panther Party.

Half day camps are sponsored in select cities in the United States and Europe that are designed to provide education to disadvantaged youth in the teachings of Malcom X and the ideas espoused by the Black Panther Party.

Background

Know Your Rights Camp is a left-of-center education-based organization led by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and his wife Nessa. Kaepernick is known for kneeling during the playing of the National Anthem to protest perceived police brutality during arrests of Black Americans. ¹

KYRC is designed to serve as a safe space for Black youth ages 12 to 18 to learn how to deal with encounters with police and to “thrive in the areas of health, education, tech, self-empowerment and finance.” It launched its first camps in 2016. ²

KYRC teaches awareness of 10 “rights” originally espoused by the Black Panther Party, a Marxist revolutionary group. These are to; be free; be healthy; be brilliant; be safe; be loved; be courageous; be alive; be trusted; educated; and know your rights. ^{3 4}

Camps have been held in Baltimore, Amsterdam, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans, New York City, and Oakland. KYRC claims on its website that 1,400 people have attended the combined camps. ⁵

Speakers at past camps have included Ameer Hasan Loggins, a doctoral student in African Diaspora Studies at University of California, Berkeley; Eric Reid, a former NFL player and staunch defender of Kaepernick; and Ben Crump, an attorney known for taking on prominent police-brutality cases including that of the family of Michael Brown, who was shot by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. ⁶

Famous attendees and speakers include Ericka Huggins, a former Black Panther Party leader, and Ambassador Shabazz, the daughter of Malcom X. ⁷

At the close of the one-half day camp, attendees receive a copy of The Autobiography of Malcom X, an Ancestry DNA kit as a reminder that their history is not tied to the United States, and a resource guide for each city that details where to get help when the rights elucidated are threatened. The guides include advice on how to handle involvement with the police and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, a list of sources of free legal help, a list of health resources, community food distribution centers, and farmers markets,, a list of help available for technical issues, help managing personal finances, and guidance on educational resources. ^{8 9}

Organization

Know Your Rights Camp was founded and launched as a coordinated charity by the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF). All donations, financial management and promotion are tasks handled by EIF. EIF was founded in 1942 by Samuel Goldman, Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Gene Kelly, Joan Crawford, Cecil B. DeMille, and the Warner brothers to help Hollywood stars, producers and studios manage their philanthropic activity. ¹⁰

EIF has formed initiatives of its own including I am a Voter which operates in support of organizations that include Democracy Works, HeadCount, National Voter Registration Day, When We All Vote, Vote.org, VotoLatino, and #Vote Together. ¹¹

Kaepernick added a legal defense initiative to KYRC that offers free legal help to those who qualify and committed to paying the legal defense costs of those arrested in the Minneapolis riots and demonstrations after George Floyd’s death in police custody. ^{12 13}

KYRC has also formed a COVID-19 Relief Fund claiming that Black and brown people experience disproportionate outcomes due to their employment status, usage of public transportation, medical racism, high incarceration rates, and the prevalence of comorbidities. ¹⁴

In 2018, Kaepernick made a Million Dollar Pledge to which he personally gave one million dollars and was joined by Alicia Keys, Kobe Bryant, Serena Williams, and Steph Curry among others, raising the total to $1.4 million. Donations were made to organizations such as: Life After Hate, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle Baltimore, and United We Dream. ¹⁵

Finances

In the wake of the protests surrounding George Floyd’s death, Know Your Rights Camp received pledges from Twitter founder Jack Dorsey of $3 million and $1 million from Alexis Ohanian Sr., the co-founder of Reddit. ¹⁶

1. “Colin Kaepernick Wants You to Know Your Rights.” PAPER. PAPER, June 15, 2020. https://www.papermag.com/colin-kaepernick-know-your-rights-2639893401.html?rebelltitem=18.
2.  “Colin Kaepernick Wants You to Know Your Rights.” PAPER. PAPER, June 15, 2020. Accessed October 24, 2023. https://www.papermag.com/colin-kaepernick-know-your-rights-2639893401.html?rebelltitem=18
3. Duncan, Garrett Albert. “Black Panther Party,” April 2, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Black-Panther-Party.
4. “Colin Kaepernick Wants You to Know Your Rights.” PAPER. PAPER, June 15, 2020. Accessed October 24, 2023. https://www.papermag.com/colin-kaepernick-know-your-rights-2639893401.html?rebelltitem=18.
5. “OUR CAMPS: Know Your Rights Camp.” Know Your Rights. Accessed June 16, 2020. https://www.knowyourrightscamp.com/our-camps.
6. Ellis, Nicquel Terry. “George Floyd’s Family Lawyer Ben Crump Has Often Been the Man beside the Mourners.” USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, June 3, 2020. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2020/06/03/ben-crump-civil-rights-lawyer-also-man-beside-mourners/5274494002/.
7. Magazine, Paper. “Colin Kaepernick Wants You to Know Your Rights.” PAPER. PAPER, June 15, 2020. https://www.papermag.com/colin-kaepernick-know-your-rights-2639893401.html?rebelltitem=1.
8. Camp, Know Your Rights, and Knowyourrightscamp. “Know Your Rights Camp: Atlanta.” Issuu. Accessed June 16, 2020. https://issuu.com/knowyourrightscamp/docs/kyrc_resource-guide_atlanta.
9. Magazine, Paper. “Colin Kaepernick Wants You to Know Your Rights.” PAPER. PAPER, June 15, 2020. https://www.papermag.com/colin-kaepernick-know-your-rights-2639893401.html?rebelltitem=1.
10. “The Entertainment Industry Foundation: About.” Entertainment Industry Foundation. Accessed June 16, 2020. https://www.eifoundation.org/about/.
11.  “Groundbreaking Campaigns.” Entertainment Industry Foundation. Accessed June 16, 2020. https://www.eifoundation.org/campaigns/.
12. “Legal.” Know Your Rights. Accessed June 16, 2020. https://www.knowyourrightscamp.com/legal.
13. Asperin, Alexa Mae. “Colin Kaepernick Offers to Pay Legal Fees of Minneapolis Protesters.” KRON4. KRON4, May 29, 2020. https://www.kron4.com/news/national/colin-kaepernick-offers-to-pay-legal-fees-of-minneapolis-protesters/.
14. “Covid 19 Relief Fund.” Know Your Rights. Accessed June 16, 2020. https://www.knowyourrightscamp.com/covid19.
15.  Rapaport, Daniel. “With Usher’s Help, Kapernick Completes $1 Miillion Pledge.” Sports Illustrated, January 31, 2018. https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/01/31/colin-kaepernick-usher-million-dollar-pledge-charity-donation.
16. Moran, Kirsten. “Donations Pour in for Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp.” KRON4. KRON4, June 6, 2020. https://www.kron4.com/news/donations-pour-in-for-colin-kaepernicks-know-your-rights-camp/.