Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has announced that he is donating $ 3 million to Colin Kaepernick’s legal defense fund. He pledged the donation on Wednesday to Kaepernick’s civil rights organization, Know Your Rights Camp.
Kaepernick established Know Your Rights Camp in 2016 to provide free legal services, health, educational and financial services assistance to underprivileged inner-city youths.
Know Your Rights Camp launched a legal defense fund
Know Your Rights Camp recently launched a new fund, the Legal Defense Initiative, to assist George Floyd protesters in Minneapolis and across the country.
The organization aims to use the fund to help bail out and pay legal fees for people who are arrested by police while demonstrating in support of calls for justice for George Floyd and an end to police brutality.
According to Know Your Rights Camp’s website, the organization’s mission is “to advance the liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities through education, self-empowerment, mass-mobilization, and the creation of new systems that elevate the next generation of change leaders.”
Kaepernick, a former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, sparked fierce national debate when he started kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial injustice in the U.S.
While many supported his action as a form of peaceful protest, some thought that “taking a knee” during the national anthem was disrespectful of the country’s flag and military.
Dorsey announced the pledge on Twitter
Dorsey took to Twitter yesterday to announce that he was donating $3 million to the Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp’s legal defense fund.
“$3mm to Colin @Kaepernick7’s @yourrightscamp to advance the liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities through education, self-empowerment, mass-mobilization to elevate the next generation of change leaders.”
More #startsmall grants.
$3mm to Colin @Kaepernick7’s @yourrightscamp to advance the liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities through education, self-empowerment, mass-mobilization to elevate the next generation of change leaders. https://t.co/WGgKziHnwB
— jack (@jack) June 3, 2020
Reactions on Twitter
Many Twitter users reacted to the announcement by expressing their approval and praising Dorsey’s generosity.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey gives $3 million to Colin Kaepernick's group, Know Your Rights Camp.
After previous donations to Oakland students, and SF's virus relief fund.
That's how you billionaire…
— scott budman (@scottbudman) June 4, 2020
However, some Twitter users criticized the donation, alleging that Dorsey was enabling violent protesters.
Twitter donates to anyone tearing down America but not a Dime to Small Businesses being forced to close for good, because of Wuhan Virus and now Antifa's Violent Rampaging‼️
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey gives $3 million to Colin Kaepernick's charity https://t.co/vzwkKEuH73 via @nypost— hyland11 (@hyland114) June 4, 2020
Meanwhile, protests continued today across the country, and police have arrested thousands of protesters since the protests started. The violence and looting subsided yesterday as thousands engaged in peaceful demonstrations.
Dorsey previously donated $1 billion to Covid-19 relief efforts
Dorsey’s pledge to Kaepernick’s legal defense fund comes after he donated $1 billion to COVID-19 relief efforts in April.
He announced in a series of tweets that he was moving $1 billion of his equity in Square Inc. (his financial service and mobile payment company) to Start Small, a company he set up to manage the funds.
Bloomberg reported at the time that the donation was the largest single donation to the coronavirus relief effort.