TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Ben & Jerry’s unveiled a colorful mural this week to honor civil rights activist and football quarterback Colin Kaepernick in Tampa as the city geared up for the upcoming Super Bowl.
The 30 x 90 feet mural, located in Old West Tampa, features a young person wearing a T-shirt with the former San Francisco 49ers raising his fist.
It was created in collaboration with Ben & Jerry’s, artist-activist Brandan “BMike” Odums and Know Your Rights Camps (KYRC), Kaepernick’s non-profit foundation. The children depicted in the artwork were “Tampa youth alongside Know Your Rights Camp (KYRC) volunteers.”
On Wednesday, which was also the third day of Black History Month, dozens gathered on the corner of West Main Street and Albany Street to watch the unveiling.
The artwork is meant to honor Kapernick for his “courageous fight against police violence and systemic racism,” the company said.
In 2016, the quarterback made headlines for his controversial decision to kneel during the national anthem at NFL games to protest racial injustice and police brutality.
Ben & Jerry’s also has a billboard featuring Kaepernick to promote its newest ice cream flavor, “Change the Whirled.”
The billboard is located a few miles away from Raymond James Stadium, where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will face the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl on Sunday.