By Alyssa Pereira, SFGATE
Published 4:50 pm, Friday, May 19, 2017
Photo: Steve Dykes, Getty Images
SEATTLE, WA – SEPTEMBER 25: (L-R) fFee safety Eric Reid #35, quarterback Colin Kaepernick #7 and outside linebacker Eli Harold #58 of the San Francisco 49ers kneel on the sidelines during the national anthem before the game against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field on September 25, 2016 in Seattle,Washington. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
lessSEATTLE, WA – SEPTEMBER 25: (L-R) fFee safety Eric Reid #35, quarterback Colin Kaepernick #7 and outside linebacker Eli Harold #58 of the San Francisco 49ers kneel on the sidelines during the national anthem
… more Photo: Steve Dykes, Getty Images
San Francisco 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick kneels during the national anthem before an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
San Francisco 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick kneels during the national anthem before an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Photo: Ted S. Warren, Associated Press
San Francisco 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick (7) stands on the sidelines against the Seattle Seahawks in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, in Seattle. The Seahawks won 37-18. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
lessSan Francisco 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick (7) stands on the sidelines against the Seattle Seahawks in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, in Seattle. The Seahawks won 37-18. (AP
… more Photo: John Froschauer, Associated Press
A photo illustration of a photo by Michael Zagaris of Colin Kaepernick is on this week’s Time Magazine.
A photo illustration of a photo by Michael Zagaris of Colin Kaepernick is on this week’s Time Magazine.
Photo: Time Magazine
San Francisco 49ers Eli Harold (58), Colin Kaepernick (7) and Eric Reid (35) kneel during the national anthem before an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
lessSan Francisco 49ers Eli Harold (58), Colin Kaepernick (7) and Eric Reid (35) kneel during the national anthem before an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, in Seattle. (AP
… more Photo: Ted S. Warren, Associated Press
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick warms up prior to the team’s game against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. (Jeff Siner/Charlotte Observer/TNS)
lessSan Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick warms up prior to the team’s game against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. (Jeff Siner/Charlotte
… more Photo: Jeff Siner, TNS
SEATTLE, WA – SEPTEMBER 25: Quarterback Colin Kaepernick #7 of the San Francisco 49ers speaks with defensive end Michael Bennett #72 of the Seattle Seahawks after the game at CenturyLink Field on September 25, 2016 in Seattle,Washington. The Seahawks won the game 37-18. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
lessSEATTLE, WA – SEPTEMBER 25: Quarterback Colin Kaepernick #7 of the San Francisco 49ers speaks with defensive end Michael Bennett #72 of the Seattle Seahawks after the game at CenturyLink Field on September 25,
… more Photo: Steve Dykes, Getty Images
Quarterback Colin Kaepernick stretches with teammates at the 49ers practice facility in Santa Clara, Calif. on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016 while the San Francisco 49ers prepare for this weekend’s game against the Seattle Seahawks.
lessQuarterback Colin Kaepernick stretches with teammates at the 49ers practice facility in Santa Clara, Calif. on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016 while the San Francisco 49ers prepare for this weekend’s game against the
… more Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle
San Francisco 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick kneels during the national anthem before an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
San Francisco 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick kneels during the national anthem before an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Photo: Ted S. Warren, Associated Press
A San Francisco 49ers fan holds up a Colin Kaepernick jersey in the first half of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016. (AP Photo/Bob Leverone)
A San Francisco 49ers fan holds up a Colin Kaepernick jersey in the first half of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016. (AP Photo/Bob Leverone)
Photo: Bob Leverone, Associated Press
San Francisco 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick (7) and Aaron Burbridge (13) walk toward the field before an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
San Francisco 49ers’ Colin Kaepernick (7) and Aaron Burbridge (13) walk toward the field before an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Photo: Ted S. Warren, Associated Press
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick warms-up before an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick warms-up before an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Photo: Ted S. Warren, Associated Press
SEATTLE, WA – SEPTEMBER 25: (L-R) fFee safety Eric Reid #35, quarterback Colin Kaepernick #7 and outside linebacker Eli Harold #58 of the San Francisco 49ers kneel on the sidelines during the national anthem before the game against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field on September 25, 2016 in Seattle,Washington. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
lessSEATTLE, WA – SEPTEMBER 25: (L-R) fFee safety Eric Reid #35, quarterback Colin Kaepernick #7 and outside linebacker Eli Harold #58 of the San Francisco 49ers kneel on the sidelines during the national anthem
… more Photo: Steve Dykes, Getty Images
SEATTLE, WA – SEPTEMBER 25: Colin Kaepernick #7 and members of the San Francisco 49ers kneel during the national anthem prior to the game against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field on September 25, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
lessSEATTLE, WA – SEPTEMBER 25: Colin Kaepernick #7 and members of the San Francisco 49ers kneel during the national anthem prior to the game against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field on September 25, 2016
… more Photo: Otto Greule Jr, Getty Images
SEATTLE, WA – SEPTEMBER 25: Quarterback Colin Kaepernick #7 of the San Francisco 49ers walks off the field after the game against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field on September 25, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. The Seahawks defeated the 49ers 37-18. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
lessSEATTLE, WA – SEPTEMBER 25: Quarterback Colin Kaepernick #7 of the San Francisco 49ers walks off the field after the game against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field on September 25, 2016 in Seattle,
… more Photo: Otto Greule Jr, Getty Images
FILE – Int his Monday, Sept. 12, 2016, file photo, San Francisco 49ers safety Eric Reid (35) and quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) kneel during the national anthem before an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams in Santa Clara, Calif. The dozen NFL players who have joined Kaepernicks protest of social injustices by kneeling or raising a fist during the national anthem have faced vitriolic, sometimes racist reactions on social media and at least one has lost endorsements. None are deterred by the backlash. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)
lessFILE – Int his Monday, Sept. 12, 2016, file photo, San Francisco 49ers safety Eric Reid (35) and quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) kneel during the national anthem before an NFL football game against the Los
… more Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, Associated Press
Kaepernick’s jersey, shoes donated to Smithsonian Museum of African American History
Activist and former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick will soon take his place in history thanks to a sociologist named Harry Edwards, according to USA Today.
Edwards is lending a hand with the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture’s “game-changers exhibit” which will focus on the impact that famed sports figures make in civil discourse around race issues.
One such subject, as Edwards and the museum director Lonnie Bunch decided, would be Colin Kaepernick. Late last year, around the time the museum opened, Edwards donated some Kaepernick memorabilia to the museum to display.
“I said, ‘Don’t wait 50 years to try to get some memorabilia and so forth on Kaepernick,'” Edwards told USA TODAY Sports. ” ‘Let me give you a game jersey, some shoes, a picture…and it should be put right there alongside Muhammad Ali. He’s this generation’s Ali.'”
Related: Kaepernick donates custom-made suits in front of a New York parole office
Related: Colin Kaepernick donates $50K to Meals on Wheels after Trump criticism
Kaepernick famously made headlines and ignited a national debate when he first sat and later kneeled during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” before 2016-2017 49ers preseason and season games. At the time, Kaepernick said his protest was meant to draw attention to racial inequalities and oppression in the United States.
“There’s a lot of racism disguised as patriotism in this country,” he said in September. “And people don’t like to address that. And they don’t like to address what the root of this protest is.”
The Kaepernick items won’t be on display immediately. The museum’s sports curator, Damon Thomas, says new items for viewing are rotated into exhibits every one to two years.
Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.
http://www.sfgate.com/49ers/article/Kaepernick-s-jersey-shoes-to-be-exhibited-at-11160114.php