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…


Keep Oakland Segregated? – Join SoBEO & Integrate Oakland Schools this Wednesday.

This Wednesday 7/21 at 11 AM PST, Integrate Oakland Schools and State of Black Education- Oakland (SoBEO) will be hosting part 1 of a webinar series on the history of school segregation in Oakland and where we are now. The conversation will explore enrollment rules, integration and the search for racial equity in OUSD. It…


The Debt Oakland Owes McClymonds and How We Can Start Paying it Off

Where we put out money is a statement of our priorities.  And no community in the East Bay has paid a higher cost of progress than West Oakland.  While the region and State’s commerce flows over and through it, from the Port, to BART, to the highways that connect the suburbs with jobs.  West Oakland…


What’s Really Wrong with Closing Schools and How the “Opportunity Ticket” Fixes It

Closing schools balances the district’s budget woes on the backs of the already most underserved parents.  The reality of closings is that it does nothing for those parents who have been dis-served and will be displaced.  Typically, they attend an equally low-performing school that is further away and/or less familiar.  And while the district may…