The early life and career of National Football League quarterback and social activist Colin Kaepernick is chronicled in Netflix’s original series, Colin in Black And White.

Viewers may be surprised that the series doesn’t start with Colin Kaepernick as the Super Bowl starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, or Colin Kaepernick the social activist who has been ostracized from the league since 2016 after he began to take a knee during the national anthem in protest of police brutality. Instead it looks at a young, high-school age Colin Kaepernick —- played impeccably by Jaden Michael — seeking out his identity while pursuing a career as an elite professional athlete.

The six-part miniseries links the experiences of a young Kaepernick — initially highly recruited as a baseball pitcher but with aspirations to be a pro quarterback — with present-day narration from Kaepernick himself, who seeks to put the events of his life into perspective. As part of that narrative, Colin in Black and White throughout the series cleverly weaves historical vignettes that often point back to the country’s sordid racial history into Kaepernick’s experiences as a young black man. Viewers get an early glimpse of Kaepernick and co-series creator Ava DuVernay’s clever and powerfully unfiltered point of view when the series likens the high-profile NFL Combine — where coaches evaluate every aspect of potential players — to slave auctions where Blacks were inhumanely objectified by White slave owners. 

Mary-Louise Parker and Nick Offerman play Kaepernick’s adoptive and very supportive parents who nevertheless aren’t prepared for and are often naïve to the misconceptions, prejudice and outward disrespect that Kaepernick faces as a young Black man growing up in a conservative, mostly White California suburb. 

Overall, Colin in Black And White is a unique series that at times may make its audience uncomfortable but more often than not endears viewers to the struggles, pitfalls and ultimate triumphs of a young Kaepernick. Whether you agree or disagree with Colin Kaepernick’s actions, Colin in Black and White is worth a look. 

The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), is providing a hotline for members who believe they are being discriminated against. 

The confidential Safe Workplace Helpline (1-212-767-7853 or safeworkplace@wgaeast.org) will put members in contact with a guild representative who will evaluate claims of discrimination or harassment.

WGAE executive director Lowell Peterson called the secure connection "part of the Guild’s expansive initiative to provide our 7,000 members with the tools, resources and education needed to work in a safe and tolerant environment." 

WGAE represents TV and film writers, including news media.

Big3 Networks, the three-on-three professional basketball league that is among the bidders for 21 Fox regional sports networks currently on the block, claimed in letters to two government agencies that threats by Charter Communications to "preemptively drop" the channels is affecting the auction for the networks.

Big3, led by rapper Ice Cube and investor Jeffrey Kwatinetz, said in letters to both the U.S. Dept. of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission on April 11 that it had held preliminary talks with Charter about possible carriage of the channels should it be the winning bidder. After some brief discussions, Big3 claims Charter broke off talks, which it says could harm its ability to bid successfully for the channels.

Charter’s actions, Big3 claims, are especially curious since one of the cable company’s largest shareholders -- Liberty Media -- is also a bidder for the Fox RSNs. Final bids for the channels are expected to be in by April 15. 

In the DOJ letter, Big3 said gaining Charter carriage is critical to the success of whichever company owns the Fox RSNs, given Charter systems account for about 25% of the channels’ potential customers.

“Charter’s conduct raises serious questions regarding the integrity of the divestiture sale and whether Liberty may be using its controlling position over Charter to tilt the bidding process in its favor,” the programmer said in its letter to the DOJ. "It has been suggested to Big3’s ownership that Charter has disseminated its threat to drop the RSNs to other members of the industry, thereby suppressing auction prices, chilling bidding, and ultimately hurting Disney’s ability to secure the best price for the RSNs."

Big3 stressed that it was not seeking a firm carriage offer from Charter, but rather “guidance and visibility into Charter’s business plans and assurances that Charter would not completely drop the RSNs, as it has indicated. Otherwise, Charter’s conduct risks effectively excluding Big3 from the bidding process and tainting the auction.”

Related: RSN Redux 

In a statement, Charter said it “currently has an agreement to carry these networks and welcomes the opportunity to discuss a future carriage agreement for these networks with whomever ultimately owns them including Big3. Regardless of who owns the programming, we approach all negotiations with the same singular objective of reaching carriage agreements that best meet the needs of our customers.”

In a press release, Big3 co-owner Ice Cube said he doesn’t believe Charter’s response rings true.

“The Big3 is not part of the old boys club and that doesn't sit well with a company like Charter, which has been called out many times for unfair treatment of minority organizations and for consistent disregard of its own customers,” Ice Cube said in the relaese. “In response to our filing, Charter says they are willing to talk to ‘whomever.’ Given their consistent animosity toward diverse ownership groups with inclusive messages like ours, we say we don’t believe them. Anyone who looks at the facts won’t either. They have done everything they can to keep us from owning these RSN’s and that’s why we have asked the FCC and the DOJ to investigate.”

Ice Cube is not the only African-American programming executive to accuse Charter of bias. In 2016, Entertainment Studios Networks founder, chairman and CEO Byron Allen filed a $10 billion discrimination suit against Charter, claiming the operator did not give the same opportunities to minority-owned networks that it did to white-owned channels. That case is still pending.  

Related: Court Won't Dismiss Allen Suit Against Charter

Big3 hopes to use the RSNs as a foundation for a new national network with a range of sports, youth and culture programming.

Initially, analysts had estimated the RSNs would attract bids upwards of $20 billion. But the reality of adding expensive channels to linear programming distributors in an environment where consumers are striving to pay less, not more, for programming has driven down the price tag to around $10 billion. In addition to Liberty and Big3, other potential bidders include Major League Baseball and television station group Sinclair Broadcasting.

Disney put the RSNs up for auction in October, part of the conditions for federal approval of its $71.3 billion purchase of certain 21st Century Fox assets. The channels include networks in markets like Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, Detroit, Minneapolis and Kansas City. In a separate deal, The YES Network, owned by Fox and the New York Yankees, has essentially hammered out an agreement where the baseball team will buy out Fox’s 80% interest -- with the help of private equity and Amazon -- for about $3.5 billion. 

Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios Networks along with the National Association of African-American Owned Media (NAAAOM) Wednesday filed a $10 billion lawsuit in United States District Court against Charter Communications for engaging in “racial discrimination” by not launching African-American owned networks.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday night in filed in United States District Court in Central District of California, comes less than a month after Entertainment Studios settled a similar discrimination lawsuit against AT&T and DirecTV after AT&T signed to carry Entertainment Studios’ portfolio of networks.

The suit alleges that Charter Communications has engaged in racial discrimination by not contracting with 100% African American-owned media.The suit further states that of the more than $4 billion spent annually by Charter Communications on cable channel carriage fees and advertising, none is spent with 100% African American-owned media companies. 

In light of Charter’s actions, the FCC should never approve Charter Communications’ acquisition of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, according to the lawsuit.

“Our lawsuit seeks to stop Charter Communications’ ‘Jim Crow’ policies and collusion with elected officials in order to continue its exclusion of 100% African American-owned media,” says Allen in a statement. “President Obama and the FCC have left 100% African American-owned media with no choice but to fight for our rights.  With this suit, as well as others to follow, NAAAOM and I intend to stop these corporate racist atrocities and the resulting African American financial genocide that we witness every day."

The lawsuit also comes two weeks after Charter signed a memorandum of understanding with a dozen diversity organizations to diversify its board of directors and to hire a chief diversity offer to head its diversity and inclusion efforts once its proposed merger with Time Warner Cable is approved.

In a statement, Charter said: "This is a desperate tactic that this programmer has used before with other distributors.  We will not comment further at this time."

The National Association of African-American Owned Media and Entertainment Studios, a media company owned by comedian and entrepreneur Byron Allen, has filed a $20 billion discrimination suit against Comcast and civil rights figure The Rev. Al Sharpton, claiming they have blocked the growth of 100% black-owned cable channels.

In a suit filed in U.S. District Court in California on Feb. 20, the NAAAOM claims that Comcast has refused to do business with 100% African American owned businesses, alleging that the media giant spends about $25 billion annually to license pay TV channels and on advertising, yet 100% African-American owned media receive less than $3 million per year.

The suit is similar to one the NAAAOM brought against AT&T in December. Like Comcast, which is in the middle of federal approvals for its planned merger with Time Warner Cable – AT&T is in the process of acquiring satellite giant DirecTV.

Comcast has been cited for several diversity awards – it was recently named one of the 40 Best Companies for Diversity by Black Enterprise magazine – and has prided itself in its track record in hiring executives and workers of color. The company, in a statement called the allegations frivolous.

“While we do not generally comment on pending litigation, this complaint represents nothing more than a string of inflammatory, inaccurate, and unsupported allegations,” Comcast said in a statement. “We are proud of our outstanding record supporting and fostering diverse programming, including programming from African American owned and controlled cable channels.   We currently carry more than 100 networks geared toward diverse audiences, including multiple networks owned or controlled by minorities.  Diversity organizations from across the country, including numerous diverse programmers, have supported our transaction with Time Warner Cable.  That deal will extend our industry-leading commitment to diverse programming to even more homes across America, one of the reasons so many groups in the African American community have supported it. Comcast has engaged in good faith negotiations with this programmer for many years.  It is disappointing that they have decided to file a frivolous lawsuit.  We will defend vigorously against the scurrilous allegations in this complaint and fully expect that the court will dismiss them.”  

Sharpton, who was accused of supporting Comcast's merger desires in return for financial reports, has called the allegations frivolous according to reports and that he plans to file counterclaims for defamation.

In the suit, NAAAOM claims that although it was required to help create minority owned channels as part of the conditions put on its 2011 acquisition of NBC Universal, Comcast has done little to  foster the growth of 100% black-owned media, instead helping to create networks owned by friends of company executives or that serve as “token fronts,” or “window dressing,” with African American celebrities posing as owners for black channels that are controlled by white-owned businesses.

For example the suit alleges that one black-owned channel is actually owned by Highbridge Capital, a fund run by former Comcast executive Payne Brown and a subsidiary of investment bank JP Morgan.

The only 100% African America-owned network currently carried by Comcast, according to the suit, is the Africa Channel, which the organization claims is owned by a former Comcast/NBCU executive who was instrumental in putting together Memorandums of Understanding from minority groups to win approval of the NBCU deal.

Allen’s Entertainment Studios produces programming on seven channels and is carried by about 40 distributors in about 7.5 million homes across the country. It does not currently have a carriage agreement with Comcast. The $20 billion damages figure isthe plaintiff's estimation of what Entertainment Studios' value would be had Comcast contracted with them in "good faith."