Activism
OUSD Schools Participate in Pro-Palestine ‘Teach-In’ Despite District Tension
On Wednesday morning, OEA for Palestine members issued a statement calling out the superintendent and the district for trying to intimidate teachers from participating in the teach-in. “By attempting to chill academic freedom on this topic, OUSD is clearly taking a side in the war on Gaza,” said the statement.

By Magaly Muñoz, Post Staff
Teachers throughout the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) participated in a “teach-in” on Wednesday, where they informed students about the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, despite efforts by the district to shut it down.
In a YouTube video that was circulated within the district titled “Why YOU Should Participate in the December 6th Teach-In,” Jacob Fowler, a teacher at Lincoln Elementary School encouraged teachers to use a curriculum favoring the Palestinians when discussing the conflict with their students.
Tension across the Bay Area has heightened over the escalating conflict overseas that started with an attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 in Southern Israel that killed 1,200 Israelis, and provoked a response that has led to more than 16,000 Palestinian fatalities so far, nearly half of whom are children.
OUSD Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell issued a statement Monday morning saying that the teach-in curriculum was “unsanctioned” and did not align with district guidelines.
“I want to make clear that the District does not authorize this action,” Johnson-Trammell said in her statement.
She explained that while the aim is to equip students to engage with local and global issues, educators must keep to principles of education and “keep their personal beliefs out of the classroom.”
Lesson plans for the day included educational materials suitable for grades K-12. These resources were assembled by ad-hoc members of the Oakland Education Association (OEA), the teacher’s union, specifically on the topic of Palestine. The materials included a variety of resources such as picture books, case studies and PBS videos.
On Wednesday morning, OEA for Palestine members issued a statement calling out the superintendent and the district for trying to intimidate teachers from participating in the teach-in.
“By attempting to chill academic freedom on this topic, OUSD is clearly taking a side in the war on Gaza,” said the statement.
The group also hosted a Zoom meeting on Wednesday titled “From Gaza to Oakland.” The meeting featured a panel consisting of representatives from the Palestinian Youth Movement, Jewish Voices for Peace, and the Black Alliance for Peace.
During the meeting, speakers were asked questions about how students can become more involved in the Palestinian movement and how this issue affects people in Oakland.
A teacher with OUSD who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation said OEA was expecting about 75-100 teachers across the district to participate in the teach-in.
She explained that her third-grade students responded really well to the curriculum and posed thoughtful questions about the conflict. Her school principal was on board with the teachers who opted to use these lessons as a conversation starter for discussions with students. She expressed confidence that parents would be receptive to this approach.
“I’m not hiding anything from parents, and I truly believe that they will be grateful that we’re having these conversations and we’re doing it in a way with safety and respect,” the source said.
While she has received positive responses from her school and students, the teacher expressed concern about her job, citing a quote that OUSD Board President Mike Hutchinson gave to the East Bay Times about teachers potentially losing their jobs as a consequence of participating in the teach-in.
Hutchinson did not respond to multiple attempts by the Post for a comment.
Parents and community members did express concern over the curriculum that was presented to students about the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Stephisha Ycoy-Walton, a mom to an OUSD student, shared that she wished the discussions about the war did not disrupt students’ education. She understands that students may be curious about the issue but emphasized that the district needs to care more about what’s happening in the classroom, rather than what’s happening on the other side of the world.
She expressed that she would have appreciated OEA members reaching out to parents to get their view on what was going to be taught to students, especially given that it was against what the district would typically allow.
“We have to be very careful in how we allow children to grow and to formulate their thoughts and opinions because what we do know is that our children are a total makeup of all of their influences, their environment, what they soak in, by what they hear, what they see, they soak it all in,” Ycoy-Walton said.
Allegedly, some parents across the district chose to keep students from class on Wednesday and some are even considering moving their kids to alternative schools or private school, says Tyler Gregory, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of the Bay Area.
He shared that the Jewish community is fearing for their lives and are starting to feel excluded in all areas of society, now including schools.
“We need to show that we are resilient, that we belong to this community and that we’re not going anywhere. We have to overcome that sense of fear right now and show the broader community who we are,” Gregory said.
Gregory wished that the lesson plans had been more inclusive to all sides of the conflict, saying that Muslim, Jewish, Palestinian, and Israeli groups should all have a voice in the curriculum.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of February 19 – 25, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of February 19 – 25, 2025
Activism
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Lateefah Simon to Speak at Elihu Harris Lecture Series
The popular lecture series is co-produced by the Oakland-based Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Peralta Community College District. Jeffries’ appearance marks the 32nd lecture of the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series, which has provided thousands of individuals with accessible, free, high-quality information.

By Scott Horton
United States House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-8) will be a speaker at the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series on Friday, Feb. 21.
The event will be held at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts, 10 Tenth Street in Oakland, at 7 p.m.
The popular lecture series is co-produced by the Oakland-based Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Peralta Community College District. Jeffries’ appearance marks the 32nd lecture of the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series, which has provided thousands of individuals with accessible, free, high-quality information.
The overarching goal of the lecture series is to provide speakers from diverse backgrounds a platform to offer their answers to Dr. King’s urgent question, which is also the title of Jeffries’ latest book: “Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community?”
In addition to Jeffries, Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) will also speak.
“Certainly, now is a time for humanity, in general, and Americans in particular to honestly and genuinely answer Dr. King’s question,” said Dr. Roy D. Wilson, Executive Director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Executive Producer of the lecture series.
“Dr. King teaches that time is neutral but not static. Like the water in a river, it arrives and then quickly moves on,” continued Wilson. “We must urgently create conditions for listening to many different answers to this vital question, and generate the development of unity of action among all those who struggle for a stronger democracy.”
In his book, Jeffries shares his experience of being unanimously elected by his colleagues as the first African American in history to ever hold the position of House Minority Leader.
In January 2023 in Washington, Jeffries made his first official speech as House Minority Leader. He affirmed Democratic values one letter of the alphabet at a time. His words and how he framed them as the alphabet caught the attention of Americans, and the speech was later turned into a book, The ABCs of Democracy, bringing Congressman Jeffries rousing speech to vivid, colorful life, including illustrations by Shaniya Carrington. The speech and book are inspiring and urgent as a timeless reminder of what it means to be a country with equal opportunities for all. Jeffries paints a road map for a brighter American future and warns of the perils of taking a different path.
Before his colleagues unanimously elected him Minority Leader in 2022, Jeffries previously served as Chair of the House Democratic Caucus and as an Impeachment Manager during the first Senate trial of the 45th President of the United States.
Jeffries was born in Brooklyn Hospital, raised in Crown Heights, grew up in the Cornerstone Baptist Church and he is a product of New York City’s public school system, graduating from Midwood High School. Jefferies went on to Binghamton University (BA), Georgetown University (master’s in public policy) and New York University (JD).
He served in the New York State Assembly from 2007 to 2012.
Admission is free for the Feb. 21 Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series featuring Congressman Jeffries. Please reserve seats by calling the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center at (510) 434-3988.
Signed copies of his book will be available for purchase at the event.
Activism
Actor, Philanthropist Blair Underwood Visits Bay Area, Kicks Off Literacy Program in ‘New Oakland’ Initiative
These community activations were coordinated with the San Francisco-based non-profit program “Room to Read.” Ray said he is also donating his time to read and take pictures with students to encourage their engagement and to inspire them to read more. The inspirational book “Clifford Ray Saves the Day” highlights Clifford Ray’s true story of saving a dolphin.

By Paul Cobb
New Oakland Series
Opinion Part 3
The Post mentioned three weeks ago that a number of our local luminaries were coming together to support the “New Oakland” movement. As this current national administration continues to eliminate our “legacy” institutional policies and programs left and right, most communities find themselves beyond “frozen” in fear.
Well, esteemed actor, long-time Bay Area supporter, and philanthropist Blair Underwood returned to Oakland this week to speak with city leaders, community trust agents, students, the Oakland Post, and local celebrities alike to continue his “New Oakland” initiative.
This week, he kicked off his “Guess Who’s Coming to Read” literacy program in some of Oakland’s middle schools. Clifford Ray, who played the center position of the 1975 World Champion Golden State Warriors, donated close to 1,000 books. Ray’s fellow teammate Charles “The Hopper” Dudley also gave Converse sneakers to students.
These community activations were coordinated with the San Francisco-based non-profit program “Room to Read.” Ray said he is also donating his time to read and take pictures with students to encourage their engagement and to inspire them to read more. The inspirational book “Clifford Ray Saves the Day” highlights Clifford Ray’s true story of saving a dolphin.
Underwood also spent quality time with the Oakland Ballers ownership group and visited the amazing Raimondi Park West Oakland community revitalization site. In the 1996 TV film Soul of the Game, Underwood played the role of the legendary first Black Major League Baseball player Jackie Robinson and commended the Ballers owners.
“This group of sports enthusiasts/ philanthropists needs to be applauded for their human capital investment and their financial capital investment,” Underwood said. “Truly putting their money and passion to work,” Underwood said.
Underwood was also inspired by mayoral candidate Barbara Lee’s open-minded invitation to bring public-private partnership opportunities to Oakland.
Underwood said he wants to “reinforce the importance of ‘collaborative activism’ among those most marginalized by non-empathic leadership. We must ‘act out’ our discomfort with passionate intentions to create healthy change.”
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