In 2021, a Netflix series titled “Colin in Black and White” was released, which explored the life of Colin Kaepernick. Now, his journey of growing up being adopted has been transformed into a children’s book.

People reports that the football player and activist’s book, “I Color Myself Different,” was inspired by a transformative moment in his childhood.

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“When I was 5-years-old, I was given an assignment in school: ‘draw a picture of yourself and your family.’ I drew my white adoptive family with a yellow crayon and then picked up a brown crayon to draw myself,” he said, according to People.

He continued: “This revelatory moment taught me an important lesson about embracing my Black identity through the power of self-love and eventually helped me to understand how my brown skin was connected to my Blackness. Above all, I hope that I Color Myself Different can inspire young people to embrace their power, love themselves and walk in the truth of their own path.”

Being an avid reader during his childhood, Kaepernick recounts back of wishing he was able to read more stories of characters that represented him. His first children’s book, illustrated Eric Wilkerson, is his own contribution to helping to fill the void he personally experienced in his youth for kids of today.

“I always loved reading but I wish there could have been more books at my disposal that reflected my own identity and experiences,” he shared in a statement. “In part, this is why I wrote I Color Myself Different. I want young readers — particularly young Black and Brown readers — to see themselves as central to the stories we tell.”

I Color Myself Different

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