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The students remember their teachers and the school staff including:
Lorene Banks, Melvin Dickson, Haven Henderson, Vivette Miller, Rodney Gillead, Pam Ward, Joe Abron, Linda Dunson, Amar Casey, Steve McCutchen, Tommye Williams, Carol Granison, Charles Moffitt, Frank Kellum, Adrienne Humphrey and many more. The curriculum written by Donna and Ericka with the support of Dr. William Moore was student-centered. Math, English and Spanish language instruction, Creative Writing, Physical Education, including Martial Arts, led by Sifu Steve, was the base of the class schedule. Art, Music and Drama were also a priority. These classes culminated in school-wide performances, written by students, twice a year.
Great human beings, poets, artists and activists such as Rosa Parks, Cesar Chavez, Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, Sun Ra and Richard Pryor visited and showered the students with their empowering and inspiring presence, Educators and graduate students visited as guest teachers and interns so that they could return to their town or state from as close as Sacramento and as far away as Amsterdam.
The value of the BPP education programs do not rest with what the early Liberation Schools, the Children’s House, the IYI or the OCS were able to do between 1969 and 1982. The legacy that was passed on through the vision and philosophy of the BPP, to the IYI and OCS staff continues to live on. The legacy lives in the hearts of the children who were taught then and will continue to live on in the generations of children they touch.
The Staff of the Oakland Community School.
Photo: Donald Cunningham