CBH TALK - Taking a Knee, Changing the World: A Conversation between Dave Zirin and Kahlil Greene
In his latest book The Kaepernick Effect, Dave Zirin explores why former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s quiet 2016 protest ignited like wildfire across the country, becoming the preeminent symbol of resistance to America’s long history of racism and police brutality. Sports editor for The Nation, Zirin brings context to this political movement, and makes real the risks and courage of the individuals who joined it on and off the field, and the power of athletes to fuel social change. He is led in conversation by Gen Z historian Kahlil Greene, Yale’s first Black student body president who comments on history and racial inequality to his nearly half million social media followers.
"They built a movement that put racist police brutality on trial in their communities, placing the very nature of both the anthem and patriotism up for debate." - Dave Zirin, The Kaepernick Effect
This program is offered in connection with the Center for Brooklyn History’s major public history initiative, Brooklyn Resists.
Participants
Dave Zirin is the sports editor of The Nation, a columnist for The Progressive, and the host of the Edge of Sports podcast. His many books include A People’s History of Sports in the United States, Game Over, Bad Sports, and The Kaepernick Effect. Zirin has been a regular guest on MSNBC, CNN, and ESPN. He was also named one of UTNE Reader’s “50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Our World.” He lives near Washington, DC.
Photo by Michelle Bollinger
Social media star Kahlil Greene is completing his studies of social movements and history at Yale University. He made history when he was elected the first Black student body president in Yale's 318-year history. He has ~500,000 followers across his TikTok, Instagram, and LinkedIn platforms where he comments about forgotten history and current events. He has worked with ESPN’s sports and pop culture website The Undefeated and authored op-eds about racial equity in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Harvard Business Review.
