THE ICONIC KAPERNICK AFRO WILL BE COMMODIFIED

Delroy Constantine-Simms

When Colin Kaepernick first began sitting and then later kneeled during the national anthem
to protest police violence, the quarterback wore his hair cropped close to his head. MacDonald
(2018) observed like many others, that as the spotlight on his activism grew, so too did his
locks, first into a mass of short curls, then cornrows, then a bigger crown of still-defined curls
and, finally, a billowing, uncontrolled, woolly, seemingly semi-sentient mass that doubled as
a silent trigger of white fragility.
MacDonald’s (2018) observation is echoed by Steele (2016) who noticed that two months after
Colin Kaepernick protests during the national anthem, critics began to focus on his Afro. In
contrast, Golding (2016) explains that Colin Kaepernick accrued a massive amount of “Black
and Woke” points from his supporters, the moment he entered Qualcomm Stadium, on
September 1st 2016 at the home of the San Diego Chargers, sporting one of the NFL's most
luminous and luxurious Afros, with the Sun rays highlighting his beautiful tresses, it appears
as if Kaepernick dipped not only his whole head, but his life, into a bottle of coconut oil.
Golding (2016) enthusiastically contents that Kaepernick’s supporters on Black Twitter just
couldn't let his 'fro go to waste without documenting it in traditional Black Twitter fashion,
which is how #KapSoBlack was birthed.

The ‘Fro Is A Lightning Rod

Let’s be clear, the Afro has always been a lightning rod for those who fear black protest. And
Kaepernick knows it, and according to Steel (2016) he’s never had to say it, he simply
displayed, it loud and proud for the whole world to see. To many, Kaepernick’s Afro has been
as effective, if not more effective a silent gesture than his kneeling through the national anthem
could ever be. His ‘fro has been a trigger for those who oppose him, yet previously refrained
from openly expressing feelings that were construed as distasteful. But once the objections
moved from patriotism and disrespect for troops or law enforcement to his ‘fro, the underlying
yet previously restrained offense reveals itself in the form of open abuse, death threats1 and a
range of racist social media memes. Steel (2016) says that Kaepernick did not have to wait

1
https://www.sfgate.com/49ers/article/49ers-Kaepernick-discusses-death-threats-9235036.php
long or look far to see condemnations of him and his protest, which included mentions of his
big, fluffy, throwback Afro, which many consider to be crude and insulting, not-even-subtly
racist reference. If you doubt the words of Steel (2016) search "Kaepernick stupid hair" on
Twitter. In response to the vitriol, from his most often racist detractors. The ironic beauty of
his hair choice, of course, is that the very first criticisms made of Kaepernick’s stance, by
professionals and the general public, were of his racial makeup and history: his mother is white,
and he was raised by a white family. These factors were used as weapons against him, his
sincerity and credibility (Steel 2016). They were able to use this strategy, because Kaepernick
who is mixed raced, and often not considered black enough by many to understand what it’s
like to be black in America, let alone complain about police brutality, racial oppression.

With extreme glee, Steel (2016) asserts that speculation regarding his racial identity ended in
an instant, as soon as Kaepernick appeared with that ‘fro. Even at his most elusive, he couldn’t
have changed direction as fast as that narrative did. Steel (2016) reminds us that none of this
is a new phenomenon, any more than it’s a new hairdo. At the same time, of course, those who
are in line with Kaepernick’s cause and actions reacted instantly and instinctively to the Afro
from the moment they saw it. In fact, it fair to suggest that the display of Kaepernick’s Afro
possibly did more to galvanize his support and his supporters more than his actual kneeling
did.

Commodification of The Afro

The commodification of civil-rights activism and elements of the Black Panther movement
may appear revolutionary. Grundy (2018) explains that it can undermine the basic tenets of
these and other social movements. Colin Kaepernick's Nike campaign illustrates this
conundrum perfectly. “It is both humiliating and humbling to discover that a single generation
after the events that constructed me as a public personality, I am remembered as a hairdo.”
These are words from the Black Power icon and lifelong activist Angela Davis’s 1994 essay,
“Afro Images: Politics, Fashion, and Nostalgia2.” In the years following her emergence as a
Communist, a revolutionary for black freedom, an enemy of the state, and an enduring voice
of prison abolition, Davis’s image—one that is considered by many to be synonymous with
black liberation and the social-resistance movements of the 1960s and ’70s—has been slapped

2
https://www.jstor.org/stable/1343885?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
onto endless memorabilia3, such as apparel and collectibles, in which the entirety of her
scholarship, activism, and the larger political effort she represents are mostly reduced to a logo
like image of her Afro.
Grundy’s (2018) concerns regarding the commodification of black pain has been
retrospectively reflected by Davis (1994) who expressed with great agitation by how her
likeness was used as a backdrop for advertising, and by how little control she had over her own
image. In her writings, she laments in (Synder 1994)4 that she was reinterpreted as a “fashion
influencer,” and the ways this undermined her message, her activism, and her anti-capitalist
principles. Davis is, for many, a living legend, but for others she is the blueprint for how to
merchandise a movement.
Grundy (2018) examples of the contemporary commodification of black pain manifests itself
in the release of Nike’s 30th-anniversary “Just Do It” ad campaign featuring a tightly cropped
still of Colin Kaepernick’s face and Afro, beckoning us to “believe in something. Even if it
means sacrificing everything.” If Nike’s imagery of Kaepernick in a black turtleneck and Afro5
conjures a dorm-room poster of yore, that is quite intentional. In his latest role as an outspoken
celebrity voice against police brutality, Kaepernick has been routinely photographed6 (Editors,
2017) wearing an Afro signals the Black Power movement of which Davis and other
revolutionaries were a part. Grundy (2018) contends that the commercialization of social-
justice activism has long required the market-ready iconography of its most visible individuals.
Nike’s images are meant to recall Davis—not as a person, but as a moment—and the resistance
as fashion that came out of her image. In teaming up with Nike, Kaepernick voluntarily lends
his image—and any contemporary vestiges of Black Power to corporate commodification.

Iconographic Branding

The branding that requires this type of iconography according to Grundy (2018) is, of course,
highly profitable Walker (2000). Research-marketing teams and advertisers spend entire
careers trying to successfully manufacture the authenticity that draws consumers to a product,
voters to a politician, or demographics to a brand. However, Grundy (2018) avows that
manufactured movements are easily detectable as fraudulent. The real game is usurping an

3
https://www.amazon.com/Angela-Davis-Shirt-Black-History/dp/B0764YBVK8
4
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1994-12-04-1994338067-story.html
5
https://twitter.com/Kaepernick7/status/1037387722107830272
6
https://www.gq.com/story/colin-kaepernick-cover-men-of-the-year
organic, organized resistance, and by ingesting the images of black protest while pruning off
any of its actual political goals, the Kaepernick campaign has already led to Nike’s online sales
ballooning 31 percent7 since its launch (White, 2018).
The background of Kaepernick’s image against the foreground of Nike’s copy, slogan, and
logo are meant to compel audiences to believe that individual determination, in the context of
social resistance, can overcome all odds, and that membership in this movement can be
procured with the purchase of Nike shoes and apparel (Grundy 2018). This narrative of
independent perseverance as a solution for toppling odds stacked against those who are
disenfranchised not only fails to achieve the reform for which Kaepernick is pushing, but as
argued by Grundy (2018) also undermines it.
For one, consumers are to believe that this Nike nation is helmed by a business that can act as
human beings have throughout history to change injustices. Nike’s brand identity angles
toward rebellion, (Grundy 2018) but there is no actuality to that in its corporate structure, which
comprises the same basic anatomy of its Fortune 500 peers. Publicly traded entities, as many
seem to have forgotten in their rush to applaud Nike, have a fiduciary responsibility to their
shareholders and cannot by law perform the selfless sacrifices that are capitalized upon in this
campaign.
Secondly, Grundy (2018) contends that the reductive commodification of Kaepernick’s
political track record to an ad spot about personal will sabotages his message of withholding
his national allegiance in the face of glaring racial disparities. Through his already established,
authentic image that embodies pro-black politics and aspirational masculinity, Grundy (2018)
declares that viewers are invited into a myth that the end of structural racism can be brought
about by essentially the same perseverance required to master a kick flip on a skateboard. In
this seductive appeal to a doggedly American sense of individuality, social change is only a
matter of marginalized people sticking it out. Those who benefit collectively from the
subjugation of others are not required to give up anything, least of all their fly new sneakers.
To be clear, one may look at all of this and argue that by teaming up with Nike, Kaepernick is
making the smart move of controlling the narrative of his own image, which, if Davis is any
lesson, will be commodified anyway hence Grundy’s (2018) faultless assertion, that
Kaepernick has no control over the way his image is received by Nike consumers. In this
instance, he is a proxy—a window-dressing model for the larger project of packaging and

7
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/what-boycott-nike-sales-are-31-percent-kaepernick-
campaign-n908251
commodifying Black Power images, which is jarringly similar to the cultural reimagining that
deemed Davis’s style and the black leather jackets and berets of her contemporaries irresistibly
and undeniably cool. In offering himself as a campaign spokesperson, Grundy (2018) contends
that Kaepernick is validating (and, thus, making more profitable) a form of social-justice
capitalism that compromises a large-scale political protest’s longevity and efficacy.

Trade Marking The ‘fro

Unlike Angela Davis, Kaepernick has seen how the image of her Afro has been exploited for
commercial purposes and has decided to take as much commercial control as possible (Grundy
2018). Kaepernick’s company Inked Flash, has applied to the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office (USPTO) to use the image in several categories such as clothing, toys, candy and mugs.
The Inked Flash company has also applied to use the image in “self-empowerment” workshops
and on social activism websites, as well as in the production of TV shows and movies.
Kaepernick founded “Know Your Rights” camps to teach young people how to interact with
police officers, with profits from some of his merchandise going toward the initiative.
Kaepernick’s company also applied to trademark “I’m with Kap,” which appeared on jerseys
and t-shirts in September 2018. The logic behind Kaepernick is clear, he intends to capitalise
on the commercial exploitation of his image, beyond his current relationship with Nike.
McDonald (2018) challenges commodification concerns expressed by Grundy’s (2018) by
explaining that Kaepernick’s trademark application functions as a defiant embrace of
militancy, the sort you would expect of Stokely Carmichael. It’s not an image interested in
acquiescing to white guilt or discomfort. McDonald (2018) contends that Kaepernick is not
here to make anyone feel better about racism and fatal police violence. He is demanding to be
taken seriously. It’s a departure from his in-person demeanour, says McDonald (2018) which
is warm and often accompanied by an easy smile. It’s the most conclusive evidence thus far
which accentuates the point that Kaepernick understands and embraced his evolution from man
to symbol.
When called out in public, say, at the US Open 20188, Kaepernick raises a single fist, the salute
to black power (Brown, 2016). The image, when accompanied by a raised fist, falls along a
continuum of black radicalism — from Carmichael’s quest for Black Power to Angela Davis’

8
https://theundefeated.com/features/no-training-camp-no-problem-colin-kaepernick-and-eric-reid-get-big-
cheers-at-u-s-open/
defiant Marxism to Kathleen Cleaver and Dorothy Pitman Hughes’ calls for revolution to
Tommie Smith and John Carlos’ silent protest at the 1968 Olympics. His Afro is cut and shaped
into a retrosphere that frames Kapp’s head like an irrepressible halo. McDonald (2018) noted
that soon after the debut of his Afro, his hair inspired gushing headlines: Colin Kaepernick’s
hair sees me,9 wrote Kara Brown (2016) at Jezebel, while Nick Brown (2016) at Essence
explained Why Colin Kaepernick’s Glorious Afro Is Significant10. Kaepernick’s ‘fro is a
studious departure from modern permutations, which tend to be more textured and less
obviously manicured — think Jordan Carlos, Seaton Smith, Solange or even the illustration of
Starr Carter on the book jacket of The Hate U Give.11
Kaepernick’s Afro may lack the wiry, mad-professor quality associated with Cornel West.
Rather, McDonald (2018) states that it’s a throwback to George E. Johnson’s Afro Sheen
blowout kit,12 to Anthony R. Romani’s clenched fist Afro pick, to blaxploitation, to Black is
Beautiful, to Nelson Stevens’ Uhuru screen-print13 of a black woman carrying the freedom of
an entire people atop her head. Kaepernick’s jersey may have said San Francisco, but his hair
screamed Oakland. In his quest to draw attention to the injustice of lethal state violence exacted
on unarmed black people, Kaepernick has become something of a walking museum exhibition,
carrying 70 years of history, politics, resistance and symbolism within a few inches of black
keratin emerging from his head (McDonald 2018). Kaepernick’s Afro, and the politics that
inspired it, call back to the birthplace of the Black Panthers, just a 30-minute drive across the
Bay from San Francisco. The money he’s raised for charity14 has gone toward community
building and empowerment and eliminating police brutality. Echoes of the principles of the
Black Panthers’ Ten-Point Program15
lurk in the 10-Point System of Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp16. Touches like these
indicate a fluency in the language and history of black American radicalism. And Kaepernick’s
particular brand of it has been contagious. He’s been able to call on the financial resources and
star power of other celebrities, including Joey Bada$$, Serena Williams, Meek Mill, Zendaya
Coleman, Jesse Williams, Yara Shahidi, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry to further his causes.

9
https://jezebel.com/colin-kaepernicks-hair-sees-me-1787869198.
10
https://www.essence.com/celebrity/colin-kaepernick-afro-significance/
11
https://www.amazon.com/Hate-U-Give-Angie-Thomas/dp/0062498533
12
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_209542
13
https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/210693
14
https://kaepernick7.com/pages/colin-kaepernicks-10for10
15
http://www.blacklivesmattersyllabus.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/BPP_Ten_Point_Program.pdf
16
https://kaepernick7.com/pages/know-your-rights-camp
Kaepernick’s bended knee, raised fist and picked-out follicles have fomented an explosion of
artistic interpretations and, in the wake of a new Nike campaign, copycat memes17.
One of the most ubiquitous illustrations of Kap18 depicts the athlete-activist kneeling, his hair
curled atop his head like Elizabeth Catlett’s Black Unity sculpture19 of a black power fist carved
out of mahogany. McDonald (2015, 2018) stresses that if there’s a downside to widely
recognized symbolism, it’s that it becomes ripe for co-opting. Loss of control is part of the
price of ubiquity, which is how the same song that greets visitors to the Soul of a Nation
exhibition, Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good,” can also double20 as an anthem for shilling weight
loss products. McDonald (2018) goes on to highlight how the revolutionary politics of Che
Guevara became twisted and diluted the more his image became well-known. Eventually, that
21
single image of a wild-haired, bearded and beret-wearing Guevara became less associated
with the overthrow of capitalism and more the province of causeless rebels who could barely
articulate who Guevara was or what he stood for — but knew that image looked cool.
Capitalism’s funny that way.
Snyder (1994) reminds us that Davis is a revolutionary who actually lived long enough to take
umbrage with her own iconography’s descent into semiotic mishmash. “I am remembered as a
hairdo,” Davis told a Baltimore crowd in 199422. “It is humiliating because it reduces a politics
of liberation to a politics of fashion. … The pertinent history of my legal case is empty of all
content so it can be made into a commodity for the advertising industry.” Perhaps Kaepernick
will be able to avoid such a fate, although history suggests otherwise. His cause has already
been wilfully misinterpreted and truncated into the deceptively named “anthem protest” despite
the fact that Kap was never protesting the national anthem itself, racist though its lyrics may
be (Johnson, 2016).23 And so, via the Patent and Trademark Office, Kaepernick is seeking a

17
https://www.boredpanda.com/funny-colin-kaepernick-nike-ad-
memes/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic
18
https://cuztomthreadz.com/products/colin-kaepernick-shirt-
men?variant=12873728819313&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google%20Shoppin
g&gclid=CjwKCAjwjIHeBRAnEiwAhYT2h_HODitXYaU-
SrB8spIgciGyOYE0LIFxCXrFxva2uJlqH1qx8Pp0jRoCeSkQAvD_BwE
19
https://www.culturetype.com/2017/11/08/artforum-powerful-clenched-fist-sculpture-by-elizabeth-catlett-
graces-november-cover
20
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2015/06/25/on-eve-of-new-nina-
simone-documentary-lauryn-hill-gives-us-a-feeling-good-fit-for-the-
times/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.7ab1fce5b092
21
http://s.fixquotes.com/files/author/che-guevara_gEeM4.jpg
22 https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1994-12-04-1994338067-story.html
23 https://theundefeated.com/features/lets-take-the-national-anthem-literally-and-the-songwriter-at-his-word/
measure of self-determination from the same entity that for many years functioned as a tool to
deny that very thing to black people: the U.S. government.

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