By Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌, California‌ ‌Black‌ ‌Media‌

Activists mourning Oscar Carl Wright’s death, have pledged to continue his lifelong mission of advocating for Black students and families in Northern California.

Wright, 101, who passed away on Nov. 18, was involved in Oakland’s educational affairs until his death.

Now, friends and admirers acknowledge that carrying on his legacy means doubling down on the unfinished work that Wright dedicated his life, time, and resources to, according to Y’Anad Burrell, a family friend and founder of San Francisco-based Glass House Communications (GHC).

“Mr. Wright did a lot of work around equity, specifically, for Black students based on their needs — whether it was tutoring, passing classes, or graduating,” Burrell said.

Wright became a champion for his children’s education, recognizing the disparities between their school experiences and his own upbringing in the Mississippi Delta.

Burrell told California Black Media (CBM) that the crisis of unequal access to resources and a quality education continues to affect the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD).

According to Oakland Reach, in the city of Oakland, only 3 in 10 Black and Brown students are reading at or above grade level. In addition, only 1 in 10 are doing math at or above grade level.

Oakland REACH is a parent-run, parent-led organization. It aims to empowers families from the most underserved communities to demand high-quality schools for their children.

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Wright’s work as an activist had impact across the state but he was primarily known in the Bay Area. Alongside the Black United Front for Educational Reform (BUFER), he filed a complaint against OUSD for violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

In 2000, the OUSD school board proposed an action plan to address educational inequity, but it was never implemented.

Wright later founded the African American Honor Roll Celebration at Acts Full Gospel Church, an award that recognizes Black students with a grade point average of 3.0 or better.  Each year, more than 1,000 students are honored at this ceremony.

Kingmakers of Oakland (KOO), a nonprofit organization that works to improve educational and life outcomes for Black boys and men, stated that “Oscar Wright is one of the most prolific, consistent, and committed advocates of equity for Black students and Black Families here in Oakland for the past six decades.”

Burrell said that one of the main reasons Wright’s work was so essential for families and children in Oakland that is the direct relationship between acquiring a quality education and affording quality housing, maintaining food security, achieving mental wellness, and securing stable employment.

Wright was the child of sharecroppers from Coahoma County, Mississippi. He attended Alcorn State University, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU).

In the late 1950s, Wright and his family relocated to the Bay Area where he worked as a contractor and civil engineer. He later became an active member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Burrell said the people who will carry on Wright’s work are part of a “village” that includes KOO’s CEO Chris Chatmon.  Wright was a mentor to Chatmon.

“It will not be one entity, one person, or one organization that picks up the baton because it was a village effort that worked alongside Mr. Wright for all these years,” Burrell said.

Burell says that legacy will live on.

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By Emil Guillermo

The Temptations, the harmonizing, singing dancing man-group of your OG youth, were on “The Today Show,” earlier this week.

There were some new members, no David Ruffin. But Otis Williams, 83, was there still crooning and preening, leading the group’s 60th anniversary performance of “My Girl.”

When I first heard “My Girl,” I got it.

I was 9 and had a crush on Julie Satterfield, with the braided ponytails in my catechism class. Unfortunately, she did not become my girl.

But that song was always a special bridge in my life. In college, I was a member of a practically all-White, all-male club that mirrored the demographics at that university. At the parties, the song of choice was “My Girl.”

Which is odd, because the party was 98% men.

The organization is a little better now, with women, people of color and LGBTQ+, but back in the 70s, the Tempts music was the only thing that integrated that club.

POETRY’S “MY GIRL”

The song’s anniversary took me by surprise. But not as much as the death of Nikki Giovanni.

Giovanni was probably one of the most famous young African American women in the 1960s, known for her fiery poetry. But even that description is tame.

The New York Times obit headline practically buried her historical impact: “Nikki Giovanni, Poet Who Wrote of Black Joy, Dies at 81.”

That doesn’t begin to touch the fire of Giovanni’s work through her lifetime.

I’ll always see her as the Black female voice that broke through the silence of good enough.  In 1968, when cities were burning all across America, Giovanni was the militant female voice of a revolution.

Her “The True Import of Present Dialogue: Black vs. Negro,” is the historical record of racial anger as literature from the opening lines.

It reads profane and violent, shockingly so then. These days, it may seem tamer than rap music.

But it’s jarring and pulls no punches. It protests Vietnam, and what Black men were asked to do for their country.

“We kill in Viet Nam,” she wrote. “We kill for UN & NATO & SEATO & US.”

Written in 1968, it was a poem that spoke to the militancy and activism of the times. And she explained herself in a follow up, “My Poem.”

“I am 25 years old, Black female poet,” she wrote referring to her earlier controversial poem. “If they kill me. It won’t stop the revolution.”

Giovanni wrote more poetry and children’s books. She taught at Rutgers, then later Virginia Tech where she followed her fellow professor who would become her spouse, Virginia C. Fowler.

Since Giovanni’s death, I’ve read through her poetry, from what made her famous, to her later poems that revealed her humanity and compassion for all of life.

In “Allowables,” she writes of finding a spider on a book, then killing it.

And she scared me
And I smashed her
I don’t think
I’m allowed
To kill something
Because I am
Frightened

For Giovanni, her soul was in her poetry, and the revolution was her evolution.

About the Author

Emil Guillermo is a journalist, commentator, and solo performer. Join him at www.patreon.com/emilamok 

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Special to the Post

Harvey Knight, Jr., “Pops” to so many young men from Oakland, passed away at 82 on Dec. 5. Harvey was married to Brenda Knight, founder of Ladies In Red, for 51 years.

He was born on April 6, 1942, in Laurel, Mississippi.

After completing high school, Harvey moved to Oakland, California, to live with his father’s sister. He knew this would become his home. He loved the Bay Area for the sports it offered him as a basketball, baseball, and football fan.

He worked for UC Berkeley for over 43 years and part-time for the Oakland Coliseum for approximately 15 years as a security guard, where he could be close to his favorite pastime.

After establishing himself with jobs and his place to live, he knew something was missing.  He found the love of his life, married her, and knew his life was complete.

Three sons were born to their union: Leonard, Harvey III, and Michael. He and his sons enjoyed the life of sports by going to the games and later supporting them in baseball at school and through Babe Ruth Baseball. His love of sports was passed on to his sons. All three played baseball while attending college.

Harvey was a soft-spoken man who provided life gems to many young boys playing baseball with his sons. Many of them would end up at the Knight family table for dinner or to listen to the man they all called ‘Pops.’

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Harvey loved to travel and take in the history he experienced on his many trips with his wife, Brenda, and the organization she founded, Ladies In Red. Although Harvey did not like the color red, he enjoyed the travel provided throughout the United States. He often researched to provide his wife with information to assist her in planning the trips.

His favorite trip was to Selma, Alabama, where he learned so much about Selma’s involvement in the Civil Rights Movement.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in the name of Harvey Knight, to Foot Soldiers Park in Selma, Alabama. Go online to: footsoldierspark.org or mail to: Foot Soldiers Park INC, 1018 Water Avenue, Selma. AL 36701.

He leaves to mourn his passing, his wife Brenda; sons; Leonard, Harvey III and Michael; eight grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and a host of relatives and friends.

You are invited to attend the funeral services on Friday, Dec. 27, at Evergreen Baptist Church, Bishop L. Lawrence Brandon, senior pastor, 408 W. MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA at 11 a.m. Rev. Dr. Jacqueline A. Thompson, pastor of Allen Temple Baptist Church will bring the eulogy.

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