Ava DuVernay on “Colin in Black and White”

WHAT DID COLIN KAEPERNICK SAY TO YOU?

IT'S ABOUT TO LAUNCH ON NETFLIX.

HE SAID HE WAS INTERESTED ON DOING SOMETHING ON HIS EARLY LIFE.

WHEN I HEARD IT, I THOUGHT, LET'S DO SOMETHING NOW.

LET'S DO IT NOW.

HE HAD A PARTICULAR POINT OF VIEW.

I THINK AT THE END OF THE PROJECT NOW I THINK IT WAS WISE.

IT ALLOWS PEOPLE TO ENTER INTO HIS STORY A LITTLE MORE FREE OF POLITICS AROUND IT.

JUST SEE A KID WHO WAS STRUGGLING TO CONTROL AND DETERMINE WHAT HIS VOICE WOULD BE.

IT HAS A NIGHT AFFECT.

IT WAS A DECISION THAT WAS SOLELY BASED ON WHAT HE WANTED TO DO.

I'M GLAD THAT I LEANED INTO IT.

IT REALLY DOES TAKE AWAY FROM THE POLITICS AND THE CULTURE WAR THAT'S ERUPTED OVERT TAKING THE KNEE.

THAT EXTENDED TO THE UK, SOCCER PLAYERS AND IN SO MANY PLACES.

ARE YOU SURPRISED THAT SMALL ACT, SIGNIFICANT SMALL ACT, HAS BECOME SUCH A POISON CHALICE?

I DON'T KNOW IF I'M SURPRISED BY IT.

I THINK IF YOU LOOK AT TOMMY SMITH, IF YOU LOOK AT MUHAMMAD ALI, ATHLETES WHO TRIED TO TAKE CONTROL OF THEIR OWN NARRATIVE, THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT THE ATHLETE THAT'S IN SUCH A CONTROLLED SYSTEM, BASEBALL, FOOTBALL, AMERICAN FOOTBALL, ALL OF THESE -- THESE ARE INSTITUTIONS THAT HAVE SYSTEMS.

THE ATHLETE IN THE MIDDLE OF IT IS EXPECTED TO BEHAVE AND PERFORM IN A CERTAIN WAY.

A CONTROLLED WAY, THAT'S VERY DEFINED.

IF ANYONE STEPS OUTSIDE OF THAT, COMMITTING A RADICAL ACT.

SO I'M NOT SURPRISED THAT IT CAUSED THE IRE IS HAS.

WHAT SURPRISES ME IS THE REVERBERATIONS SIX YEARS LATER.

IN THE FIRST EPISODE, IT'S VERY DRAMATIC AND UNCOMFORTABLE, I SUPPOSE BY DESIGN, WHERE YOU SORT OF GO FROM IMAGE TO IMAGE, SLAVE AUCTION TO NFL RECRUITMENT.

WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?

THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WAS IMPORTANT TO COLIN.

HE FELT THAT WHEN HE WENT THROUGH THE NFL COMBINE PROCESS -- I WASN'T AWARE OF -- THERE'S THIS PROCESS THAT AS YOU ARE ENTERING INTO PROFESSIONAL AMERICAN FOOTBALL, YOU ARE MEASURED, PREDOMINANTLY BLACK MEN, MUSCLES ARE MEASURES, THEIR STRENGTH IS CALCULATED, THEY ARE ON TABLE WITH THEIR SHIRTS OFF IN THEIR BRIEFS WITH DOCTORS POKING AND PRODDING.

THIS IS A VERY INVASIVE PROCESS FOR THE BLACK BODY TO GO THROUGH TO DETERMINE WHAT THE POTENTIAL FOR PROFIT IS.

HE SAW THAT AS ANALOGOUS TO THE SLAVE AUCTIONS WITH BLACK MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN WERE PUT ON SLAVE BLOCKS TO BE POKED AND PRODDED TO ASSESS IF THEY COULD WORK IN THE FIELDS PROPERLY.