Oakland Unified School District (OUSD)

Tomorrow may be the Biggest Event of the Year.  JOIN US at the Oakland Candidate Forum.

One of the central tenets of this blog, and our organization overall, lies within our unwavering conviction that representative authenticity matters.  This may sound like a loaded term, but inherent within it are a few critical concepts: Representation isn’t token, and it certainly isn’t transactional.  Intentions matter.  A seat at the table is not enough. …

SOBE RANTS: Are Allies in Education Getting in the Way of Black Excellence?

The following post is from your host of SOBE Rants, MarQuis Evans, and is intended as an introductory companion piece for the next SOBE Rants podcast . Follow Quis on this journey by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify!

On top of there being a shortage of teachers overall, there’s critically a lack of cultured educators who possess the ability to effectively educate our scholars. Due to this, many of our schools that provide service for our scholars blessed with melanin superpowers are populated with educators/administrators who claim to be “allies” to provide quality education for our scholars, but are slick getting in the way of their elevation. Willingness to educate Black scholars, however, is not the only ingredient required to get the job done. For quite some time now, Black educators have been voicing that our “allies” are unintentionally getting in the way, and make decisions that ultimately result in the miseducation of our Black scholars. This leaves us Black educators furious, feeling unheard, and thinking out loud, “What in the pumpkin pie is going on here?”  #TakesShotOfDrink

Guest Voice on OUSD: What Will the OUSD Board of Education Cover During Their Back to School Retreat on August 5th?

By Jumoke Hinton, Co-Founder of SoBEO and West Oakland Grown Initiatives As the Oakland Unified School District Board of Education prepares for the new school year, will they take time to reflect on their effectiveness? Will they reflect on the tension present whenever they are working together? The public sees a very disjointed and antagonistic school board…

Guest Voice on School Closures: What is going on in Oakland?

Jumoke Hinton-Hodge, A SOBEO (State of Black Education Oakland) member speaks on her feelings about the current state of Oakland. I’ve always experienced Oakland as a deeply-rooted land of diversity brimming in both culture and intellect.  Currently, it feels like folks have lost Oakland’s vision. Our city’s governing bodies are tearing down carefully-built trust and…