Colin Kaepernick To Be Awarded Medal From Harvard University

CAMBRIDGE (CBS) – Colin Kaepernick is among eight people set to be honored at Harvard University next month.

The former NFL star-turned activist will receive the W.E.B. Du Bois Medal at the Hutchins Center Honors in Cambridge on Oct. 11. It's described as "Harvard's highest honor in the field of African and African American studies."

"The medal honors those who have made significant contributions to African and African American history and culture, and more broadly, individuals who advocate for intercultural understanding and human rights in an increasingly global and interconnected world," Harvard says.

Kaepernick was recently the subject of a much-discussed Nike campaign with the tagline "Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything." He started kneeling during the national anthem at the start of NFL games back in 2016 to protest racial injustice, and has accused the league of conspiring to keep him from playing football.

A press release from Harvard recognized Kaepernick's $1 million donation to charities serving oppressed communities.

Related: Rhode Island Town Council Joins Others In Boycotting Nike

The other seven award recipients are comedian Dave Chappelle, businessman Kenneth Chenault, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President Shirley Ann Jackson, philanthropist Pamela Joyner, psychologist and author Florence Ladd, social justice activist Bryan Stevenson and artist Kehinde Wiley.

"In the year of the 150th anniversary of his birth, W. E. B. Du Bois would be proud of the eight individuals being recognized at this year's Hutchins Center Honors," center director Henry Louis Gates Jr. said in a statement.

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