The First Trailer For Netflix's Colin In Black & White Has Arrived

Few sports figures have been as inspiring and controversial as former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who attracted international headlines when he kneeled during the national anthem in protest of police brutality against Black Americans in 2016 (via The Los Angeles Times). After Kaepernick opted out of his contract, he later accused the NFL of blackballing him and ultimately reached a settlement with the league in 2019 (via NPR). Today, his football days are behind him, and he works as an activist advocating for social justice issues.

While sports fans and casual observers around the world are definitely familiar with Kaepernick's story, fewer know about his early life. But a new Netflix series is aiming to change that. As reported by Deadline, "Colin in Black & White" is an upcoming six-part drama that follows a young Colin Kaepernick (Jaden Michael) in his Central California high school, where his athletic talents attract plenty of admiration, but also racism on a near daily basis.

Co-created by Kaepernick and Ava DuVernay, "Colin in Black & White" premieres October 29, 2021. Netflix just released a trailer, and you can check out a full breakdown below. 

The trailer kicks off by introducing a young Colin Kaepernick, while present-day Colin narrates. "Since the day I was born, my passion, my love was being a quarterback. But what you start out as, is not necessarily what you become." The trailer moves on to Kaepernick's high school years, starting off with some smaller moments — getting his hair braided, having a crush on a classmate — and then moving on to show his early football prowess. It's clear Kaepernick is several steps above his high school peers and destined for bigger and better things.

But Kaepernick has more than football and high school to contend with. A coach allows that Kaepernick has "natural talent," but still wants to replace him with a white quarterback. A passerby then assumes the worst when he sees Kaepernick with his white parents, Rick (Nick Offerman) and Teresa (Mary-Louise Parker). There's a run-in with a police officer, as well, and a Confederate flag on the back of a pickup truck. His baseball coaches comment on his braids, and he receives no scholarship offers to play quarterback.

Kaepernick deals with this by dedicating himself to sports to prove his doubters wrong, but also questions why he has to prove them wrong in the first place. As he says via narration, at this point in his life he didn't know how to rebel, but these years still provided the foundation for the person he would eventually become.

The trailer ends with Kaepernick beginning to come into his own, both in sports and in terms of who he is as a person. "Trust your power," he says. "Love your blackness. You will know who you are."