Kaepernick Publishing is a publishing company founded in 2019 by football player and activist Colin Kaepernick. The company was created to “elevate a new generation of writers with diverse views and voices through the creation of powerful works of all genres that can build a better and more just world.” Since its founding, the company has published numerous books for both children and adults, including “I Color Myself Different”, “Abolition for the People”, “Our History Has Always Been Contraband”, and “We Are Free, You & Me.”
While Kaepernick Publishing is not explicitly focused on publishing books on criminal justice reform and abolition, one of its most successful publications (“Abolition for the People”) is. “Abolition for the People” is a book that stemmed from a collaboration between the company and LEVEL. The project published a series of 30 stories and essays from organizers, political prisoners, scholars and advocates which call out the intrinsic violence within policing and the carceral system. The project begins with essays from Kaepernick and Angela Davis, before delving into four main themes: Police and Policing, Prisons and Carcerality, Fuck Reform, and Abolition Now. The project was published in 2020 and all essays can be read on Medium at the link at the end of this post.
The essays cover a wide range of themes, from connecting disability justice to abolition and highlighting how ableism is a driving force behind incarceration (Disability Justice Is an Essential Part of Abolishing Police and Prisons by Talia “TL” Lewis), to the expendability of Black women within police violence (Breonna Taylor and Bearing Witness to Black Women’s Expendability by Kimberlé Crenshaw) to the “rainbow washing” of increased pro-LGBT branding by law enforcement (The Queer and Trans Fight for Liberation — and Abolition by Dean Spade), to the undeniable inseparability of incarceration from colonization (Stolen Freedom: The Ongoing Incarceration of California’s Indigenous Peoples by Morning Star Gali). The essays cover vast expanses of the history and motivation behind the carceral system, the roots of abolition, our current state, and how we must move beyond it and create a more just and caring society.
While some of the essays remain free for readers online (others require a Medium account), the book is available though the DC library and all proceeds made from the selling of physical copies are donated to Know Your Rights Camp, a non-profit founded to advance the liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities. Kaepernick also partnered with other organizations who have matched every hardcover copy sold with a book donated to incarcerated people throughout the US (organizations including RestoreHER and Prison Book Program). Their most recent publication (a graphic novel published in September 2024) is entitled “Dear Dad”, and tells the story of a nine-year old growing up having only known her father being in prison.
Kaepernick Publishing continues to be one of the most outspoken publishing companies in working to center and promote books that highlight the intense and violent harm of the prison industrial complex. Their commitment can be seen through both collaborations with organizations working to improve access to books within prisons and their continuous support and promotion of authors who work to inform all ages of readers on the impacts of incarceration.
Books and Websites Mentioned:
Abolition for the People (website): https://level.medium.com/abolition-for-the-people-397ef29e3ca5
Abolition for the People (book): https://www.kaepernickpublishing.com/abolition-for-the-people
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