SoBEO

The State of the [Black Education] Union

Ladies, gentlemen, and fellow citizens, the state of the Black Education Union is not strong. The nameless and faceless “system” is still failing Black students. To be clear, they are failing nearly every major subgroup, but especially Black students, and add on poverty, or a disability, or any other subgroup, and the numbers get worse in regards to literacy and numeracy.

A letter to Bitwise Industries leadership before the collapse

At the end of May this year, on Memorial Day, Bitwise Industries, a tech startup that “promised to uplift marginalized communities and change the narratives of underestimated places” furloughed its workers and soon shut down. Among those who lost their jobs were Kennan Scott, the former OUSD Director of Computer Science, a longtime educator and winner of one of the first State of Black Education Oakland (SoBEO) Impact Awards. Kennan’s wife, Karen, also worked for Bitwise Industries Oakland. In this guest piece, Kennan shares a message he sent to the Bitwise team shortly before the layoffs:

SOLD OUT: Join us for the 2022 Black Excellence Awards Tomorrow on YouTube

In a year of devastating loss within our community – our founder Dirk and our peerless advocate Rachel Willis Henry, among others – we are honoring their spirit and endless drive for our Black children with tomorrow’s 2022 Black Excellence Awards. It’s a time where we will hold space for their memory and legacy by…