Activism

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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Activism

Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

1 week ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.