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Local Educators Announce Initiatives For Black Lives Matter At School’s Week Of Action

THE SEATTLE MEDIUM — The Black Lives Matter At Schools Movement’s momentum is growing as its impact on the community has been fruitful.

Published

8 years ago

January 31, 2019

Oakland Post

By The Seattle Medium

On Monday, education leaders in Seattle held a press conference at the Rainier Beach Community Center to announce their new initiatives for the Black Lives Matter At School’s upcoming week of action to take place Feb. 4 – 8.

Black Lives Matter At Schools, in partnership with Seattle Public Schools, the Center for Racial Equity, the NAACP and N.Y.C (NAACP Youth Coalition) and parents of the community, is building on the nationally recognized work they began last year in bringing racism awareness and racial equity in schools around the region and nation.

During the “Week Of Action” program Black Lives At School will reintroduce their Demands as well as introduce a new curriculum, a book entitled Teaching For Black Lives for educators, students and parents about teaching ethnic and racial sensitivity, followed by a Black Lives Matters At School rally and student talent showcase.

In addition to pushing school districts to provide ethnic studies as part of their curriculum, the organization is also asking school’s administrators to recognize the need to educate and train both student and educators in “zero tolerance”, discipline and implement restorative justice in how they treat racism and systematic racism within education.

“Including Black Lives Matter At School Movement curricula in classrooms across the nation is an affirmation of the importance and power of ethnic studies,” says Tracy Castro-Gill, Ethnic Studies Program Manager for the Seattle Public Schools.

“Educators across our district have shared how their experience last year in teaching the Black Lives Matter lessons changed how they thought about Ethnic Studies and moved many educators to rethink their content and practices,” added Castro-Gill.

The organization is also promoting the hiring of more Black teachers and a “counselors not cops program” which aims to provide students of color a more positive and productive means of crisis control other than the justice system and the “pipeline to prison” as a solution through meaningful counseling.

According to Jesse Hagopian, an ethnic studies teacher at Garfield High School, racism and systematic racism has been on the rise in the Pacific Northwest in response to the present leadership in Washington D.C. and the nation’s educators are taking notice and action to combat this and provide children a leg up through learning, introducing them to the diversity in people.

“With racist hate crimes on the rise and the president who makes openly racist comments about Africa and Haiti, it is vital that we transform our education to be about uplifting Black lives undoing racism,” says Hagopian.

The Black Lives Matter At Schools Movement’s momentum is growing as its impact on the community has been fruitful.

The NAACP’s NAACP Youth Coalition has produced a growing number of young students who are taking on leadership roles as they work to bring about a more compassionate, inclusive and productive learning environment.

Israel Presley a Rainier Beach student and member of the N.Y.C believes, “this [Black Lives Matter At School Movement] is out of the need for change, Seattle struggles with making changes happen or even actually listening.”

“What I’ve noticed is a lot of times we put our voices out there, we try to say what we want, but they don’t pick up,” said Presley. “They don’t pick it up at all and I think with the Black Lives Matter At School it is a wakeup call saying ‘hey we are here, it’s time to listen, it’s time to wake up.’”

There are several events that will take place during the Week Of Action. On Mon., Feb. 4 BLM At School will gather at the University of Washington’s Kane Hall at 7:00 p.m. to introduce their new book “Teaching For Black Lives.” Weds., Feb. 6 at 4:45pm at the John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence BLM At School will roll out their agenda and demands and Fri., Feb. 8 at 6:00 p.m. at Cleveland High School the students will take the lead with a rally and talent showcase.

This article originally appeared in The Seattle Medium.

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Oakland Post: Week of September 2 – 8, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of September 2 – 8, 2026

Published

23 hours ago

September 7, 2026

Oakland Post

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Business

Longtime BWOPA Member Brendalyn Goodall Appointed to California Workforce Development Board

Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed longtime Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) member Brendalynn Goodall to the California Workforce Development Board. Goodall, an Oakland resident with decades of experience in public service, has held leadership positions focused on

Published

1 week ago

August 30, 2026

Post News Group

Post Co-Publisher Gay Plair Cobb with Brendalynn Goodall. Courtesy photo.

By California Black Media

Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed longtime Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) member Brendalynn Goodall to the California Workforce Development Board.

Goodall, an Oakland resident with decades of experience in public service, has held leadership positions focused on employment, aging services and assistance for underserved communities.

“Brendalynn will be a great addition to this Board,” said Gay Plair Cobb, who served as former state Assemblyman Sandre Swanson’s alternate to the California Workforce Development Board (CWDB).

“She understands that California’s non-profit organizations serve persons who have the most significant barriers to their labor market success and that the Board should help these groups navigate the complicated requirements of state funding.

“In other words, she will be a strong advocate for our most marginalized populations. Her voice is needed now, more than ever.”

CWDB works with the governor to shape workforce policies, programs and investments designed to strengthen the state’s economy. It collaborates with employers, workers, labor organizations, educational institutions, community groups and California’s 45 local workforce development boards to expand access to quality jobs and respond to regional employment needs.

According to the board, its work includes coordinating state programs and guiding investments in workforce training and development.

BWOPA California celebrated the appointment, describing Goodall as a dedicated advocate for workers, families and older adults.

“Her appointment reflects a lifetime of leadership, service, and unwavering commitment to strengthening California’s workforce and expanding opportunity for all,” the organization stated in a press release.

Goodall served as summer jobs program coordinator in the Oakland Mayor’s Office from 2012 to 2014. In that position, she helped connect young people with employment opportunities and job experience.

Before joining the Mayor’s Office, Goodall was division manager for Aging and Adult Services in the City of Oakland Human Services Department from 2002 to 2011. She previously served as senior services supervisor and program director for the city’s Department of Aging, Health and Human Services from 1990 to 2002.

Goodall is also a member of the California Commission on Aging, which advises the governor and state officials on policies and programs affecting older Californians.

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Black History

Jackie Wright Champions Bay Area Stories, Filmmakers and Cultural Institutions

As an award-winning communications professional, Wright has worked with corporations, nonprofits, government agencies, educational institutions, artists, and community organizations. In 2026, she expanded that work by launching an introductory public relations class for small businesses and nonprofits, offering practical tools for gaining visibility, shaping messages and building productive relationships with the media.

Published

1 week ago

August 30, 2026

Post News Group

Jackie Wright of Wright Enterprises. Photo courtesy of Wright Enterprises.

By Carla Thomas

Jackie Wright has spent more than two decades helping people, organizations and communities understand the power of a well-told story.

As founder and president of Wright Enterprises, a San Francisco-based strategic communications and public affairs firm, Wright has built a career spanning journalism, public relations, media relations, crisis communications, community engagement and multimedia storytelling.

Wright’s commitment to storytelling is also deeply personal. She wrote and co-directed the 15-minute documentary, “Love Separated in Life…Love Reunited in Honor,” which chronicles the story of her parents, Specialist Five (S5 Wyley Wright Jr. and Ouida Fay McClendon Wright. Her father, a U.S. Army helicopter crew chief, died in Vietnam in 1964 while serving as an honor guard during a visit by then-Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Decades later, Wright and her siblings had their father exhumed from a segregated cemetery in Jacksonville, Florida, and their mother moved from her burial place in Georgia so the couple could be reunited at Arlington National Cemetery in 2014.

The family journey later took Wright and her sister to Vietnam, where they discovered the former military compound that had been named in honor of their father and another fallen soldier. The documentary, centered on love, war, family, racial understanding, and remembrance, earned festival recognition at screenings.

“It was quite an honor to learn about my family’s history and share it on film,” said Wright.

That filmmaking experience complements Wright’s longstanding advocacy for independent cinema. She has served as a media partner and brand ambassador for Bay Area film festivals, including the San Francisco Black Film Festival, Oakland International Film Festival, and the Durban International Film Festival in South Africa.

“It’s important to help filmmakers and underrepresented stories reach broader audiences,” said Wright.

Whether promoting a neighborhood organization, championing an independent filmmaker or preserving her own family history, Wright has remained consistent. Through Wright Enterprises, she has turned communications into both a profession and a form of community service, telling stories that might otherwise go unheard.

“Our stories are an integral part of our history, and our history is not only American history, but worldwide,” she said.