As the interim superintendent for Clayton County Public Schools (CCPS), an Atlanta-area school district serving over 50,000 students, Dr. Douglas Hendrix, Sr. regularly articulates his leadership to the public.
So when a publication serving local business leaders called Focus: Atlanta asked Hendrix about a topical, controversial subject—how the district intended to implement AI while “maintaining student engagement and critical thinking”—the superintendent went to work on the right response.
But not without some help.
Alongside CCPS communications chief Dr. Ebony Lee, Hendrix drafted an answer. “We do not want to simply take from technology. We want to guide it and use our brains to push it,” wrote Hendrix, citing the existence of a district AI policy and touting a new app called Lumi, a genAI educational tech app that enables users to produce entire digital comic books scripts and illustrations with little more than a few guided ChatGPT-style text prompts.
However, before Hendrix sent his quote, eyeblack learned that according to Lee, the superintendent’s explanation of his district’s AI use needed a final approval from Lumi’s CEO: Colin Kaepernick.
The athlete, activist and tech founder is most known for kneeling during the national anthem during the abrupt, final season of his promising NFL career, work he has continued since his forced retirement from football. Most recently, Kaepernick paid for an independent autopsy for Nolan Wells, a Black teenager who disappeared while vacationing with friends in Mississippi. As eyeblack previously reported, Kaepernick promotes Lumi as an entrepreneurial extension of his activism. And in 2025, he sold Clayton County on a three year, six-figure deal with his graphic novel generator. It’s one of multiple deals he’s scored with school districts across the United States, including Newark, Philadelphia, Portland, Birmingham and Nashville.
“Greetings Colin and Team, It was a pleasure speaking with you this morning about our current and future partnership,” wrote Hill in her June 1 email to Kaepernick, his Lumi colleagues, and Hendrix, in reference to a call between the group from earlier that day. “Please see the question and his response below. Let me know if we are approved to move forward or if any edits are needed.”
Email sent from Clayton County Public Schools’ Chief of Communications to Kaepernick—with select quotes highlighted by eyeblack.
Hill and Hendrix then gave Kaepernick a chance to review the superintendent’s answer. As a Pro Bowl QB, Kaepernick knew what to do with his read option: he ran with it.