The GOP Appears To Have Darkened Colin Kaepernick’s Skin Tone For Fundraising Email

A fundraising email sent by the Republican Party is causing a stir, as some believed the organization purposely darkened the skin of Colin Kaepernick.

The email was trying to capitalize on the recent controversy involving the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, who convinced Nike to pull a shoe design because he believed some may see it as racist. The design in question was the so-called “Betsy Ross flag,” the first flag of the United States of America, which features 13 stars in a circle.

“Who do you stand with? [President] Donald Trump and the Betsy Ross flag, or anti-American Flag Colin Kaepernick?” the email asked. Images on the email included Trump next to Kaepernick alongside the captioning, which was in all capital letters.

Kapernick’s picture appeared to have been darkened in tone, when compared to the photograph that it is based on, Yahoo News reported. Chris Pack, communications director for the National Republican Congressional Committee (which sent out the email), denied the allegation.

“The photo was not darkened,” Pack said.

Yahoo News: Republican campaign committee darkened Colin Kaepernick's skin for a fundraising ad. https://t.co/xjXJ3YyvEG

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 11, 2019

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The controversy surrounding the flag is contentious. While many view the flag as being the first emblem of our nation, white supremacist groups have indeed co-opted the Betsy Ross flag over the decades, doing so because they want to hearken back to a symbol of our nation’s ideals during that time — namely, that white men were better left in charge of the national government, Rolling Stone reported.

The name of the flag itself is a bit contentious, too, but less-so on the topic at hand and more along the lines of historical accuracy. It’s likely that Betsy Ross had nothing to do with the creation of the flag at all, as her grandson was the first to suggest she had almost 100 years after the flag was designed. He provided no corroborating evidence, save for affidavits from family members, to prove Ross made the flag herself, according to the Washington Post.