Bay Area

Community Celebrates Life of Sylvester Hodges, Education Leader, Parent Activist

A community celebration was held Saturday, July 8, commemorating the life of former Oakland Board of Education member, civil rights leader, and parent activist Sylvester Hodges. Many lifelong friends and loved ones came out to join the celebration of his life at the Cypress Mandela Training Center in East Oakland. Hodges, 78, died on May 21, 2020, but the event was postponed until this month due to the pandemic.

Published

9 months ago

July 19, 2023

Oakland Post

Attendees at the celebration of Sylvester Hodges’ life at the Mandela Training Center. Photo by Ken Epstein.

By Ken Epstein

A community celebration was held Saturday, July 8, commemorating the life of former Oakland Board of Education member, civil rights leader, and parent activist Sylvester Hodges.

Many lifelong friends and loved ones came out to join the celebration of his life at the Cypress Mandela Training Center in East Oakland. Hodges, 78, died on May 21, 2020, but the event was postponed until this month due to the pandemic.

Hodges’ son, LaRone Hodges, organized the event.

Alvin Moore Sr., who hosted the celebration, remembered Hodges as a man of courage who was unafraid to stand alone when he was fighting for what he knew was right.

One of Hodges’ lifelong friends, Ashlee Sherman, told stories of their experiences as young athletes at McClymonds High School and how, with encouragement from Hodges, he went on to San Francisco State, earned a bachelor’s degree and later a master’s degree.

Kitty Kelly Epstein, an education leader and community activist, said, “Sylvester did probably what was the most important action ever taken by an elected official in Oakland — he saved the school district from being taken over by the racist, elitist State of California for 15 years,” adding that Oakland was the only school district in the country that was able to halt an attempted state takeover.

Underscoring the strength and clarity of Hodges’ leadership, Epstein said, “People should live their lives like Sylvester did, with the amount of courage and principle that I have not seen often before in my life, and I learned so much from him.”

Despite repeated attempts, the state was never able to seize control of the Oakland Unified School District until Hodges retired from the board.

During those years of African American leadership on the school board, the district made some major changes to benefit Black and Brown students, including ending some of the worst forms of tracking, which prevented them from taking algebra and assigned them perpetually to remedial math classes.

The board also rejected a racist textbook that was pushed on schools by the state, and the first programs were created to bring more Black and Brown teachers into the schools.

At the time, many people did not understand the importance of maintaining local control and had hopes that state intervention would lead to improvements in the district’s financial condition and reduce unresponsive bureaucracy.

When eventually the state did take over, the results turned out to be the opposite of what people had hoped for: continual budget cuts and school closures, lack of transparency, more consultants and highly paid bureaucrats, and unending budget deficits.

Hodges was born on April 30, 1942, in Montrose, Arkansas, moving with his parents, Chester and Maggie Hodges, to Oakland in 1946. He attended Prescott Elementary, Lowell Middle School, and graduated from McClymonds High in 1960. He entered the U.S. Air Force, where he was on the wrestling team. In 1964, he met Lola Ingram, who he married in 1965.

Besides serving on school board for 12 years, Hodges served as chair of the Paul Robeson Centennial Committee, working successfully to rename the school district administration building in Robeson’s memory.

After he retired from the recreation department in San Mateo County, he went to work as an administrator for the Cypress Mandela Training Center, training countless Black and Latino young people to overcome barriers to enter positions in the construction trades.

He also served on the board of the Oakland Emiliano Zapata Street Academy, a school he loved because of its unique approach to young people’s education. He also remained a dedicated supporter of McClymonds High School.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

1 day ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

5 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

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Bay Area

State Controller Malia Cohen Keynote Speaker at S.F. Wealth Conference

California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

Published

7 days ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

American Business Women’s Association Vice President Velma Landers, left, with California State Controller Malia Cohen (center), and ABWA President LaRonda Smith at the Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the ABWA at the Black Wealth Brunch.

By Carla Thomas

The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

“Our goal is to educate Black and Brown families in the masses about financial wellness, wealth building, and how to protect and preserve wealth,” said ABWA San Francisco Chapter President LaRonda Smith.

ABWA’s mission is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support, and national recognition.

“This day is about recognizing influential women, hearing from an accomplished woman as our keynote speaker and allowing women to come together as powerful people,” said ABWA SF Chapter Vice President Velma Landers.

More than 60 attendees dined on the culinary delights of Chef Sharon Lee of The Spot catering, which included a full soul food brunch of skewered shrimp, chicken, blackened salmon, and mac and cheese.

Cohen discussed the many economic disparities women and people of color face. From pay equity to financial literacy, Cohen shared not only statistics, but was excited about a new solution in motion which entailed partnering with Californians for Financial Education.

“I want everyone to reach their full potential,” she said. “Just a few weeks ago in Sacramento, I partnered with an organization, Californians for Financial Education.

“We gathered 990 signatures and submitted it to the [California] Secretary of State to get an initiative on the ballot that guarantees personal finance courses for every public school kid in the state of California.

“Every California student deserves an equal opportunity to learn about filing taxes, interest rates, budgets, and understanding the impact of credit scores. The way we begin to do that is to teach it,” Cohen said.

By equipping students with information, Cohen hopes to close the financial wealth gap, and give everyone an opportunity to reach their full financial potential. “They have to first be equipped with the information and education is the key. Then all we need are opportunities to step into spaces and places of power.”

Cohen went on to share that in her own upbringing, she was not guided on financial principles that could jump start her finances. “Communities of color don’t have the same information and I don’t know about you, but I did not grow up listening to my parents discussing their assets, their investments, and diversifying their portfolio. This is the kind of nomenclature and language we are trying to introduce to our future generations so we can pivot from a life of poverty so we can pivot away and never return to poverty.”

Cohen urged audience members to pass the initiative on the November 2024 ballot.

“When we come together as women, uplift women, and support women, we all win. By networking and learning together, we can continue to build generational wealth,” said Landers. “Passing a powerful initiative will ensure the next generation of California students will be empowered to make more informed financial decisions, decisions that will last them a lifetime.”