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COMMENTARY: Let’s Talk Black Education

What’s needed for Black children is a comprehensive and systematic approach like the state’s roadmap for English learners, which states that “English learners are the shared responsibility of all educators and that all levels of the educational system have a role to play in ensuring the access and achievement of the over 1.3 million English learners who attend California schools.”

Published

4 years ago

December 31, 2021

Oakland Post

Margaret Fortune is president and CEO of Fortune School of Education.

Would Black Students Thrive with The Same Focus California Gives English Learners?

By Dr. Margaret Fortune

In a state known for its progressivism, you may find it shocking that Black Californians live under a mandate that nothing can be done for Black children in our public schools as a matter of law.

This is true even though according to the California Department of Education, 67% of Black students don’t read or write at grade level. In math, nearly 80% of Black children do not perform at grade level, and 86% are below grade level in science.

That means that Black Californians are not being prepared to participate in the STEM economy for which our state has been the epicenter of innovation for the world.

Californians have become notorious for our misplaced values. If you go to a restaurant in California, you can’t have a plastic straw because a fish in the ocean might choke on it.

But if you are a Black child in California, where Democrats hold a super majority in the Legislature and the Governor’s office, the state will not protect you from receiving an inferior education, even though the evidence points to the fact that most Black children are being failed by the Golden State’s public schools.

In 2020, as Californians packed the streets chanting “Black Lives Matter,” most California voters went to the polls to defeat a ballot initiative that would have cleared the way for the state to provide targeted support for Black public-school children by repealing the state’s 25-year-old ban on considering an individual’s race in public education.

However, there are some insiders in Democratic politics who remain determined to bring about positive change. The California Democratic Party Black Caucus has proposed a set of amendments to the education plank of the party’s platform and is holding hearings calling on Democrats to advocate for closing achievement gaps and addressing funding inequities for Black students like the party does for other groups of students.

Black students make up 5% of the 6 million children in California’s public schools. And while the state rightly provides extra funding, instructional support and school accountability for certain high need students, there are 80,000 Black youth who do not qualify for supplemental funding because they are not low income, English Learners or foster youth.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond recently appointed me to his Black Student Achievement Taskforce. In these conversations, thought leaders on Black education are openly asking the question, should all our Black students qualify for extra support? Is it right that 69% of Black students graduate from high school ineligible to even apply to a state college, like the University of California or the California State University?

One of the goals of the Superintendent’s Black Student Achievement Taskforce is to design a legislative package that addresses Black student achievement in California public schools.

It’s time to take back up the equity bill Secretary of State Shirley Weber introduced in 2018 when she was a member of the California Legislature. Although AB 2635 (Weber) did not specifically identify Black students, they would have qualified for extra funding based on standardized test scores in math and English language arts.

At the time, Weber said, “Now is the time to fix education inequities and target resources to students in need.”

In addition, California’s English Learner Roadmap, adopted by the State Board of Education in 2017, is a model for setting a policy vision for Black students.

I agree, and the same applies to over 300,000 Black children too.

California should apply the same comprehensive and robust set of laws, regulations and funding that it has for English learners to its Black students. If it did, results would be better for the state’s Black children.

Margaret Fortune is president and CEO of Fortune School of Education.

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Oakland Post: Week of December 24 – 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

Published

24 hours ago

December 25, 2025

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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Lu Lu’s House is Not Just Toying Around with the Community

Wilson and Lambert will be partnering with Mayor Barbara Lee on a toy giveaway on Dec. 20. Young people, like Dremont Wilkes, age 15, will help give away toys and encourage young people to stay in school and out of trouble. Wilkes wants to go to college and become a specialist in financial aid. Sports agent Aaron Goodwin has committed to giving all eight young people from Lu Lu’s House a fully paid free ride to college, provided they keep a 3.0 grade point average and continue the program. Lu Lu’s House is not toying around.

Published

6 days ago

December 20, 2025

Oakland Post

Tania Fuller Bryant, Zirl Wilson, Dremont Wilkes, Tracy Lambert and Dr. Geoffrey Watson. Courtesy Oakland Private Industry

Special to the Post

Lu Lu’s House is a 501c3 organization based in Oakland, founded by Mr. Zirl Wilson and Mr. Tracy Lambert, both previously incarcerated. After their release from jail, they wanted to change things for the better in the community — and wow, have they done that!

The duo developed housing for previously incarcerated people, calling it “Lu Lu’s House,” after Wilson’s wonderful wife. At a time when many young people were robbing, looting, and involved in shootings, Wilson and Lambert took it upon themselves to risk their lives to engage young gang members and teach them about nonviolence, safety, cleanliness, business, education, and the importance of health and longevity.

Lambert sold hats and T-shirts at the Eastmont Mall and was visited by his friend Wilson. At the mall, they witnessed gangs of young people running into the stores, stealing whatever they could get their hands on and then rushing out. Wilson tried to stop them after numerous robberies and finally called the police, who Wilson said, “did not respond.” Having been incarcerated previously, they realized that if the young people were allowed to continue to rob the stores, they could receive multiple criminal counts, which would take their case from misdemeanors to felonies, resulting in incarceration.

Lu Lu’s House traveled to Los Angeles and obtained more than 500 toys
for a Dec. 20 giveaway in partnership with Oakland Mayor Barbara
Lee. Courtesy Oakland Private Industry,

Wilson took it upon himself to follow the young people home and when he arrived at their subsidized homes, he realized the importance of trying to save the young people from violence, drug addiction, lack of self-worth, and incarceration — as well as their families from losing subsidized housing. Lambert and Wilson explained to the young men and women, ages 13-17, that there were positive options which might allow them to make money legally and stay out of jail. Wilson and Lambert decided to teach them how to wash cars and they opened a car wash in East Oakland. Oakland’s Initiative, “Keep the town clean,” involved the young people from Lu Lu’s House participating in more than eight cleanup sessions throughout Oakland. To assist with their infrastructure, Lu Lu’s House has partnered with Oakland’s Private Industry Council.

For the Christmas season, Lu Lu’s House and reformed young people (who were previously robbed) will continue to give back.

Lu Lu’s House traveled to Los Angeles and obtained more than 500 toys.

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Desmond Gumbs — Visionary Founder, Mentor, and Builder of Opportunity

Gumbs’ coaching and leadership journey spans from Bishop O’Dowd High School, Oakland High School, Stellar Prep High School. Over the decades, hundreds of his students have gone on to college, earning academic and athletic scholarships and developing life skills that extend well beyond sports.

Published

6 days ago

December 20, 2025

Oakland Post

NCAA football history was made this year when Head Coach from Mississippi Valley State, Terrell Buckley and Head Coach Desmond Gumbs both had starting kickers that were Women. This picture was taken after the game. Courtesy photo.

Special to the Post

For more than 25 years, Desmond Gumbs has been a cornerstone of Bay Area education and athletics — not simply as a coach, but as a mentor, founder, and architect of opportunity. While recent media narratives have focused narrowly on challenges, they fail to capture the far more important truth: Gumbs’ life’s work has been dedicated to building pathways to college, character, and long-term success for hundreds of young people.

A Career Defined by Impact

One of his most enduring contributions is his role as founder of Stellar Prep High School, a non-traditional, mission-driven institution created to serve students who needed additional structure, belief, and opportunity. Through Stellar Prep numerous students have advanced to college — many with scholarships — demonstrating Gumbs’ deep commitment to education as the foundation for athletic and personal success.

NCAA football history was made this year when Head Coach from
Mississippi Valley State, Terrell Buckley and Head Coach Desmond
Gumbs both had starting kickers that were women. This picture was
taken after the game.

A Personal Testament to the Mission: Addison Gumbs

Perhaps no example better reflects Desmond Gumbs’ philosophy than the journey of his son, Addison Gumbs. Addison became an Army All-American, one of the highest honors in high school football — and notably, the last Army All-Americans produced by the Bay Area, alongside Najee Harris.

Both young men went on to compete at the highest levels of college football — Addison Gumbs at the University of Oklahoma, and Najee Harris at the University of Alabama — representing the Bay Area on a national level.

Building Lincoln University Athletics From the Ground Up

In 2021, Gumbs accepted one of the most difficult challenges in college athletics: launching an entire athletics department at Lincoln University in Oakland from scratch. With no established infrastructure, limited facilities, and eventually the loss of key financial aid resources, he nonetheless built opportunities where none existed.

Under his leadership, Lincoln University introduced:

Football
Men’s and Women’s Basketball
Men’s and Women’s Soccer

Operating as an independent program with no capital and no conference safety net, Gumbs was forced to innovate — finding ways to sustain teams, schedule competition, and keep student-athletes enrolled and progressing toward degrees. The work was never about comfort; it was about access.

Voices That Reflect His Impact

Desmond Gumbs’ philosophy has been consistently reflected in his own published words:

“if you have an idea, you’re 75% there the remaining 25% is actually doing it.”
“This generation doesn’t respect the title — they respect the person.”
“Greatness is a habit, not a moment.”

Former players and community members have echoed similar sentiments in public commentary, crediting Gumbs with teaching them leadership, accountability, confidence, and belief in themselves — lessons that outlast any single season.

Context Matters More Than Headlines

Recent articles critical of Lincoln University athletics focus on logistical and financial hardships while ignoring the reality of building a new program with limited resources in one of the most expensive regions in the country. Such narratives are ultimately harmful and incomplete, failing to recognize the courage it takes to create opportunity instead of walking away when conditions are difficult.

The real story is not about early struggles — it is about vision, resilience, and service.

A Legacy That Endures

From founding Stellar PREP High School, to sending hundreds of students to college, to producing elite athletes like Addison Gumbs, to launching Lincoln University athletics, Desmond Gumbs’ legacy is one of belief in young people and relentless commitment to opportunity.

His work cannot be reduced to headlines or records. It lives on in degrees earned, scholarships secured, leaders developed, and futures changed — across the Bay Area and beyond.