'Colin Kaepernick, the former NFL quarterback, has added social justice activist, author, and entrepreneur to his list of achievements. As the opening keynote speaker at NSBA's Council of Urban Boards of Education Annual Conference in Los Angeles, Kaepernick discussed his expanded resume, his commitment to advancing opportunities for students, and a new AI tool to improve student literacy.
January 19, 2026
NSBA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CEO VERJEANA MCCOTTER-JACOBS AND COLIN KAEPERNICK AT THE 2025 CUBE CONFERENCE.
PHOTO CREDIT: NSBA
In high school, Colin Kaepernick was a standout athlete and an outstanding student. Today, the former NFL quarterback has added social justice activist, author, and entrepreneur to his list of achievements. As the opening keynote speaker at NSBA’s Council of Urban Boards of Education Annual Conference in September in Los Angeles, Kaepernick discussed his expanded resume and his commitment to advancing opportunities for students, closing the digital divide, and improving student literacy through a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool.
The current AI revolution is “a moment that is going to drive the future,” Kaepernick said. “Not just of our communities. It’s going to drive the future of what society looks like.” It also presents an opportunity “to find out what we value, what we are willing to do, and what we can accomplish,” he said.
During a fireside chat with NSBA Executive Director and CEO Verjeana McCotter-Jacobs, Kaepernick discussed Lumi Story AI, the company he launched in 2024, which uses AI to enhance student engagement, literacy, and creativity. He also discussed his Know Your Rights Camp nonprofit, which has sponsored camps across the country focused on legal justice education, financial literacy, and community building.
“Lumi really came about as a culmination of 10 years of work on the media side, building a media company, building a publishing company, having great access and opportunity with creators whose voices typically haven’t been heard,” he said. “That also sat in parallel with 10 years of doing work on the Know Your Rights Camp and doing education initiatives with middle school and high school students across the country.”
In addition to encouraging conference attendees to take action on AI and recognize its potential “to foster authentic and organic learning experiences,” Kaepernick emphasized the importance of seizing opportunities, avoiding complacency, and being educated, involved, and supportive in shaping the future of education and society.
(This interview has been edited for length and clarity.)
Athlete, activist, or author? Which of the titles on your resume would your high school teachers be most curious about?
They would probably be most surprised by activist. In high school, I was a three-sport athlete and did well there. I graduated with a 4.5 GPA, so on the academic side, there were high expectations. But growing up in Turlock, California, a predominantly White community, I was one of the few Black people there, so I think that would be the area most of my teachers might not expect. There wasn’t much political activity there, or at least not when I grew up.
Speaking of political activity, while school board members are doing critical work, they also can encounter challenging political waters. Your advice to board members navigating a politically charged environment?
This issue comes up pretty frequently when speaking with board members, superintendents, teachers, and others in various professions. The thing that always sits at the forefront of my mind is, what are we trying to accomplish, and how are we trying to advance people? If we stay focused on the goal of advancing people, it becomes very hard for individuals to manipulate our efforts politically. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen; it definitely will. But it becomes much more difficult. Also, you have to have community with you. So, I’d say stay focused on the goal, keep driving towards that, and make sure to build community and bring people with you in that process.
Your work in AI is deeply rooted in equity. That’s a word that, in some ways, has been weaponized, but it’s our job to emphasize that equity means giving students what they need to succeed. How do you see AI helping to close opportunity gaps in historically underserved communities?
I believe that AI will be game-changing for districts, teachers, students, and society, as well as for urban, rural, and suburban communities across the board. We are sitting in what I believe is a once-in-a-generation moment: the opportunity to use AI to exponentially close gaps, or they will exponentially widen. We cannot afford to have our students, teachers, and communities fall behind in this process. Another aspect we want to consider with AI is the opportunity for students to take a more active role in their own learning and engagement. All the writings that students created in our Lumi pilot program in Newark, New Jersey, were directly aligned with the curriculum in their classroom. They were entering and accessing that curriculum based upon their own interests and what excites them. We see their engagement go up. We see their performance in the classroom go up. And they’re building AI skills in the process.
Some board members might feel a bit intimidated by AI, yet they are the ones who must create policies about this work in their districts. Your advice to school board members about getting more comfortable with AI tools?
AI is not going anywhere. You can try to run from it or hide, but it is coming. This is evident in the dollars being poured into AI. As board members, you should consider how you are setting your superintendents, administration, teachers, and students up for success. So first, I would say you’re not going to be able to run from it, so get involved. Second, start using AI. You can use it in low-risk ways: test it on your emails. And find other people, districts, and companies you can collaborate with to help you gain insight into this process.
What’s the process when a district engages with your program? Where do you begin?
We start by conducting training sessions with the admin and their team. The next step is to train teachers in AI. As part of this process, we focus on how to use Lumi as a platform, how students will use it, and how it relates to your specific subject area. While many initially think this would be great for ELA classes, we actually see its use across social studies, business, art, science, ESL classes, and special education. Newark used it in algebra this summer, which was a new application. Its adaptability enables it to support students in various ways. That marks our initial phase.
Why did you create the Know Your Rights Camp nonprofit?
It was born out of the question of how to ensure that our communities are safe and thriving. We began building Know Your Rights in 2015 and held our first camp in 2016. The full-day camps focus on history, legal rights, holistic health, financial literacy, education, technology, and community building. We have run them across the country. When we enter any city, we work with other nonprofits, community-based organizations, or school districts. We found that there is often phenomenal work being done, but it isn’t being communicated between the groups. That became an organizing function for us—to help community groups better support one another.