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Our Story: ‘A Vision for Excellence’
History
The Oakland Eastbay Alliance of Black Educators (OEABE), formerly Oakland Alliance of Black Educators, had its beginning in the home of Joe and Octavia Barlow in December, 1975.
The primary purpose of this meeting was to create an organization that would address the growing concerns related to African-American students and educators. It was determined that the organization’s focus areas would be to:
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Impact policy decisions that affect African-American students.
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Address issues facing African-American students in urban schools.
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Serve as a clearinghouse for articulating the needs of African-American school administrators for addressing educational inequities experienced by African-American students.
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Support the recruitment of qualified school personnel in general and African-Americans specifically.
While initially conceived as an organization for African-American school administrators, in 1996 the organization broadened to include teachers, counselors, psychologists, classified personnel, and parents. Over time, membership grew to well over 300. Additionally, as the organization expanded, it launched a Commission System to more effectively address issues and utilize resources. To this end, seven (7) Commissions were established. These commissions consisted of:
1. Policy Development
2. District Administrators
3. Local School Administrators
4. Instructional Support
5. Higher Education
6. Special Projects
7. Program Development
Over the years, the Oakland Eastbay Alliance of Black Educators sent delegates to the National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) Conference in New Orleans, Miami Chicago, Cleveland, Norfolk, San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., Detroit, Portland, Dallas, and Atlanta. The organization also:
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Met regularly with the Superintendent of Schools.
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Conducted a Saturday School program.
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Honored distinguished teachers, administrators, community members, and student scholars.
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Sponsored African-American Heritage Month Programs.
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Awarded student scholarships including the James Bradford, Alvie Bible and Willie D. Harper, Ruth Love, and Rochelle Davidson Scholarships.
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Hosted annual education conferences.
Conferences
The first conference was held in 1981 at the Airport Hilton. Sixty people attended. The 1996 Conference at the Oakland Marriott City Center (formerly the Parc Oakland Hotel) showed a record attendance of over five hundred. The OABE Conference Committee, chaired by the President-Elect of the organization, includes the work of many, often meeting weekly as well as monthly. The sub-committees included chairpersons in the areas of: Program, Program Evaluation, Publicity, Registration, Awards, Meal Functions, Entertainment, Student Showcase, Student Art, Youth Symposium, Audio Visual, Hospitality, Souvenir Booklet/Kits, Decorations, Advertisement, along with a conference secretary, and treasurer.
Conference workshops addressed areas such as: Navigating Politics, The Changing Face of the Exceptional Children’s Program, Taking Care of All God’s Children: Children in Crisis; Charter Schools, Vouchers, and Public Education: Implications for educating the African-American child, Classroom Management Strategies, and Exploring Life through Technology – to name a few.
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Conference Speakers and Presenters
The Founders
Present at that first meeting were Harry Reynolds, Herbert Howard, Ola Howard, Lucella Harrison, Fannie Dawson, Winston Williams, Tony Lopes, Doris Williams, Mary T. Williams, James Bradford and Dr. Octavia Barlow – known to us today as the Founders. We salute these founding members and past presidents whose vision is as relevant today as it was when it was conceived. As an organization, members continued to pledge themselves to serve as advocates for African American children “who had been poorly served in the past, to ensure that they were effectively educated in the present, and accorded priority for the future.”
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Past Presidents
New Beginnings: Continuing the Vision
With members retiring or relocating, and demographic shifts, the organization’s activities gradually began to wane. However, in 2021, there was renewed interest to revitalize the organization by former members in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic. Educators, with varied years of experience and roles in urban education, came together to address two issues. The first issue was the status of African-American students in our urban schools. The second issue was that of school closures; which overwhelmingly impacted students of African-American descent.
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Member Experience and Expertise
Members of the Oakland Eastbay Alliance of Black Educators have extensive experience in improving academic outcomes of African-American students in our urban schools.
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