Colin Kaepernick honored his girlfriend, radio host Nessa Diab, Tuesday on Twitter by celebrating her ability to demonstrate the “power of love.”
Diab, an MTV host and radio personality, appears in Paper Magazine’s recent Kaepernick profile, which highlights some of the work behind the campaign he founded in 2016, Know Your Rights Camp.
The profile, guest-edited by the activist and philanthropist himself, visualizes the 10 principles of protections identified by his Know Your Rights Camp through people who represent each of the 10 pillars. Diab represents the campaign’s fifth pillar: You have the right to be loved.
“Thank you @nessnitty for representing the @yourrightscamp pillar - The Right To Be Loved!” the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback tweeted on Tuesday. “Keep showing us the power of love! Love you Queen!”
“I love you so much @Kaepernick7,” Diab responded on Twitter.
Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp aims to “advance the liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities,” according to its website.
The organization holds free seminars for youths in various cities to encourage self-empowerment and mass-mobilization, and to educate young people about their legal rights during police encounters, among other initiatives.
The Know Your Rights’ 10 points is a homage to the Black Panther Party’s Ten-Point Program. They are:
1. You have the right to be free.
2. You have the right to be healthy.
3. You have the right to be brilliant.
4. You have the right to be safe.
5. You have the right to be loved.
6. You have the right to be courageous.
7. You have the right to be alive.
8. You have the right to be trusted.
9. You have the right to be educated.
10. You have the right to know your rights.
Diab, who co-founded Know Your Rights Camp, according to Paper, told the publication why she believes it’s empowering to love someone.
“It’s liberating when you love people,” Diab said. “It’s liberating when you want to see goodness happen because you love them. For me, I know loving Colin has liberated me to a point where, if we can’t do good for this world, I don’t want to be here. And if I can’t do it with him, I don’t want to exist here.”
Diab, who has repeatedly used her extensive media platforms to support Kaepernick, has been a fierce critic of Jay-Z’s new long-term partnership with the NFL via his entertainment and sports company, Roc Nation.
The MTV host has criticized the move, citing the NFL’s treatment of Kaepernick, who led peaceful protests of racial injustice and police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem at football games in 2016. He has remained unsigned by an NFL team since he became a free agent after that 2016 season.
Diab tweeted last week that Jay-Z “knew better and did NOT do better.”
The radio personality joined the chorus of critics who charged that the NFL’s purported goal of tackling social injustice issues with Roc Nation was disingenuous, considering it blacklisted Kaepernick, who used his platform in the NFL to bring awareness to racial injustice.
Eric Reid, Kaepernick’s friend and former teammate, has also sharply criticized the partnership. He was the first NFL player to kneel in protest beside Kaepernick in 2016, and has continued the peaceful demonstrations at NFL games as a Carolina Panther.
Tuesday on Twitter, Kaepernick honored Reid, who was featured in Paper as a representative of the “right to be courageous” pillar.
“Keep showing us what courage looks like in action!” Kaepernick wrote. “Love you Brother!”
The Know Your Rights profile also featured other important figures, including Ava DuVernay and Angela Davis, who represented the right to be trusted and the right to be brilliant, respectively.
“Thank you for showing us how to be a trusted voice!” Kaepernick tweeted about DuVernay. “Love you Sister!”