State of Black Education in Oakland Event Series

Without struggle there is no progress. Please join us.

We are listening to and sharing the stories of our elders, families, youth, educators, academics and the community. We are digging into the context of Black education in Oakland—how we got here, how the Black community is experiencing it, and ultimately what we can do to continue the struggle for progress.

“The Black Paper”—Is the set of policy recommendations that came from our community engagements, it included four key proposals this year: (1) the opportunity ticket, where families from closing schools get first choice at any school, district or charter, (2) that students needed to be meaningfully involved in the hiring and evaluation of educators, (3) that charter schools and the district need to set goals for hiring and retaining diverse educators, and (4) we need to re-purpose district facilities to serve the most underserved homeless children and families.  These campaigns will be taking place within OUSD and at charter schools across the City.  Please join us.

Events from 2018

Tuesday, 4/24: The Past, Present and Future of Activism for Black Families in Oakland: A Conversation with the NAACP

Thursday, 5/10: Segregation, Integration and Oakland’s Racist History of Housing and Education. A talk with Richard Rothstein, author of “The Color of Law,” along with elected officials and community activists, discussing government-created segregation, the geography of opportunity in West Oakland, and our responsibility to do something.

A Celebration of Black Educators: Supporting and Increasing the Pipeline–Please join the State of Black Education – Oakland (SoBEO) to break bread at noon and engage in a day focused on celebrating some of our Black heroes and sheroes. The program will include panels looking at the experiences of our teachers and best practices for recruitment, retention and development. At 4PM we’ll have a happy hour to cap off the day and celebrate the incredible work being done.

Voices for Change with Energy Convertors– the State of Black Education for Black Students featuring EdTrust-West Executive Director, Ryan Smith.  Our student fellows have been hard at work publishing content in hopes to improve Oakland’s education and community. On May 17, they get to share their research, recommendations by hosting a talk with Oakland leaders. The fellows are in the driver’s seat.

Sound Off

We want to capture community stories, and actively engage the community in this process. We are doing interviews, accepting blogs and self-made videos, joining partner events, and ultimately sharing the voices of the community.

Share your story now.

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