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D.C.-based Advancement Project gets a piece of Colin Kaepernick’s Million Dollar Pledge

Civil rights organization is the second of 10 groups to receive $10,000 in 10 days

A Washington, D.C.-based social justice organization is the second recipient of Colin Kaepernick’s “#10for10” pledge to donate $10,000 a day for 10 straight days to groups “working in oppressed communities.”

Advancement Project, a civil rights organization committed to dismantling and reforming “the unjust and inequitable policies that undermine the promise of democracy through the development of community-based solutions to racial justice issues,” was awarded the donation on Thursday as part of the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback’s Million Dollar Pledge. As was the case on day one, the $10,000 gift was matched by one of Kaepernick’s celebrity friends, this time Grey’s Anatomy actor Jesse Williams, who serves on Advancement Project’s board of directors. Kaepernick and Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant combined to give $20,000 to Silicon Valley De-Bug on Wednesday.

“We are grateful for Jesse’s and Colin’s support of our work. From the beginning, we supported Colin Kaepernick’s peaceful #TakeAKnee protest, which underscored the need for police reform, a focus of our work,” executive director Judith Browne Dianis said in a statement. “This partnership is a perfect fit for the work we have been doing across the country supporting communities of color as they demand an end to unjust over-policing and over-criminalization.”

Founded in 1999, Advancement Project has spent 19 years working across the country to combat police brutality and the school-to-prison pipeline, and to achieve accountability of law enforcement officials in our schools. Through a network of attorneys, policy experts and social justice advocates, the organization, per a release, “works on the ground to assist grassroots organizations around the country with organizing, litigation and communication strategies in the areas of policing, voting rights, immigrant justice, education equity and other injustices.”

Next month, Advancement Project plans to hold a summit during NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles to help other celebrities find their voice in the fight for racial justice.

“I’m incredibly proud of the diligent and effective work done by Advancement Project and am glad to bring Colin in to join the fight at this level,” Williams said in a statement. “Amidst all the work we do around school-to-prison pipeline, voter suppression, school pushouts and policing, we’re pressing with an even firmer hand on police accountability measures, including more practical trainings for officers and organizers.”

From October 2016 to June 2017, Kaepernick donated $900,000 to 31 organizations working to fight systemic racism, poverty and police violence. Those groups have included the Urban Underground ($25,000), Meals on Wheels ($50,000), Somalia Famine Relief ($50,000) and rapper J. Cole’s The Dreamville Foundation ($34,000).

Martenzie Johnson is a senior writer for Andscape. His favorite cinematic moment is when Django said, "Y'all want to see somethin?"