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Darlene Lawson, 75, Fought for Equal Education

Published

13 years ago

February 23, 2013

Darlene Lawson served on the Oakland Board of Education from 1983 to January 1993. Here she celebrates her second inauguration with five of her seven children: Loretta Little, Vida Byrd, Billie Wright, Annette Wright and Charlene Byrd.

By Ken A. Epstein

Businesswoman Darlene Ann Lawson-Scott, 75, who left a lasting impact on Oakland schools during two terms on the Board of Education, died on Jan 13. A fighter for equal education for flatland children and families, she was the first African American woman to be elected to the school board.
Known as Darlene Lawson when she ran and won a seat in District 5, she served on the board from July 1983 through January 1993. She was selected by fellow board members to serve as board president in 1985 and 1987.
As a parent, she started going to PTA meetings. “She learned that the hill schools were getting more resources than flatland schools. That’s why she ran for office – she wanted to be an advocate for flatland parents and children,” said Lawson’s daughter Loretta Little.
In one campaign brochure, written in Spanish and English, she described herself as “Someone who will not sell out.” She said she supported classroom curriculum that shows “an appreciation of the richness of the cultural difference and similarities of our children.”
She also backed: “No schools closings;” “A program in teacher training for prospective Latino, African-American and Asian teachers;” and “school safety with parental involvement.”
On the board, Lawson developed committees so members could make informed decisions on finances, budget, disciplinary hearings and facilities. Years later, the state trustee who was assigned to Oakland disbanded the committees.
“Without committees, the board has no way of doing anything but rubberstamp” staff decisions, said Sylvester Hodges, who served with Lawson on the board. He represented District 7.
The disciplinary committee reviewed expulsions to make sure youngsters – who may have done something wrong and childish – were not needlessly kicked out of school, destroying their futures.
“Darlene showed she was a leader in her personal and her political life,” said Hodges. “She had many different sides to who she was. She brought people together as a family,” he said.
Lawson made waves when she focused on unequal funding to schools in the richer and poorer areas of the city, Hodges said. “We were very disappointed with the difference in funding allocations between the flatlands and the hills. Darlene was quick to point that out, and people didn’t like that.”
Lawson and other members of the board’s African American majority faced a “public lynching,” during those years, Hodges said. Despite the barrage of attacks from the media and officials, he said, “She did not back down because she was being attacked. She was brave.”
Oakland education leader and professor Kitty Kelly Epstein also remembered Lawson as someone who stood up for Oakland children.
“Darlene was one of the first elected officials in Oakland to conscientiously advocate for flatlands residents,” Epstein said. “She was an effective parent advocate before she ran for school board, and she courageously stood up against the ‘old-boy’ and ‘old-girl’ network who thought they should continue to run Oakland politics.”
Lawson was born April 20, 1937 in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of Richard Woods Sr. and Leoma Woods-Dixon. A “PK” or Preacher’s Kid, she had a very strict upbringing.
The oldest of nine children, she took care of her siblings and other family members when their parents and grandparents passed away.
At her early age she joined the African Apostle Methodist Church. She graduated in 1955 from Douglas High School and received an AA degree in business from St. Louis Community College.
Her first job was at a fast food restaurant. She also worked in nursing and served as a Girl Scout leader and swim coach.
Even after she relocated to California, she was quick to travel back to St. Louis whenever a family member needed her.
After leaving the school board, she earned a real estate license. She helped youth find jobs and worked through the City of Oakland to help women on welfare become first-time homeowners.
Lawson married David Scott in 1990. A successful entrepreneur, she was a daycare provider, real estate broker and owned several businesses, including nightclubs.
She also found time to co-author a two-volume book on her family’s history, “Genealogy of a Family Before and After Slavery,” conducting research at plantations and locating ancestors who had worked on the railroads.
She spent her last years at a convalescent home in Alameda. Though ill, she advocated for the rights of the elderly and disabled residents and served on the board of the rehabilitation care home.
Lawson was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers Ronald P. Dixon and Robert E. Woods and a sister, Carol McDuffie (McDaniel).
She leaves her husband of 23 years, Dave Scott, sons David Scott Jr. and Keith Lawson and daughters Charlene Byrd, Loretta Little, Vida Byrd, Billie Jo Wright and Annette Wright.
She also leaves brothers Richard Woods, Jack Woods and Byron Dixon, sisters Marieda Woods (Irons) and Betty Booth: and 12 grand children; and many “god-children” who she had adopted into her heart over the years.

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Rest in Peace: A.M.E. Pastor and L.A Civil Rights Icon Cecil “Chip” Murray Passes

The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles, died of natural causes April 6 at his Windsor Hills Home. He was 94. “Today, we lost a giant. Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray dedicated his life to service, community, and putting God first in all things. I had the absolute honor of working with him, worshiping with him, and seeking his counsel,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of the dynamic religious leader whose ministry inspired and attracted millionaires as well as former gang bangers and people dealing with substance use disorder (SUD).

Published

1 month ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles, died of natural causes April 6 at his Windsor Hills Home. He was 94.

“Today, we lost a giant. Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray dedicated his life to service, community, and putting God first in all things. I had the absolute honor of working with him, worshiping with him, and seeking his counsel,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of the dynamic religious leader whose ministry inspired and attracted millionaires as well as former gang bangers and people dealing with substance use disorder (SUD).

Murray oversaw the growth of FAME’s congregation from 250 members to 18,000.

“My heart is with the First AME congregation and community today as we reflect on a legacy that changed this city forever,” Bass continued.

Murray served as Senior Minister at FAME, the oldest Black congregation in the city, for 27 years. During that time, various dignitaries visited and he built strong relationships with political and civic leaders in the city and across the state, as well as a number of Hollywood figures. Several national political leaders also visited with Murray and his congregation at FAME, including Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Murray, a Florida native and U.S. Air Force vet, attended Florida A&M University, where he majored in history, worked on the school newspaper and pledged Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He later attended Claremont School of Theology in Los Angeles County, where he earned his doctorate in Divinity.

Murray is survived by his son Drew. His wife Bernadine, who was a committed member of the A.M.E. church and the daughter of his childhood pastor, died in 2013.

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Court Throws Out Law That Allowed Californians to Build Duplexes, Triplexes and RDUs on Their Properties

Charter cities in California won a lawsuit last week against the state that declared Senate Bill (SB) 9, a pro-housing bill, unconstitutional. Passed in 2021, SB 9 is also known as the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency Act (HOME). That law permits up to four residential units — counting individual units of duplexes, triplexes and residential dwelling units (RDUs) – to be built on properties in neighborhoods that were previously zoned for only single-family homes.

Published

1 month ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

Charter cities in California won a lawsuit last week against the state that declared Senate Bill (SB) 9, a pro-housing bill, unconstitutional.

Passed in 2021, SB 9 is also known as the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency Act (HOME). That law permits up to four residential units — counting individual units of duplexes, triplexes and residential dwelling units (RDUs) – to be built on properties in neighborhoods that were previously zoned for only single-family homes.

A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge ruled in favor of the cities, pointing out that SB 9 discredited charter cities that were granted jurisdiction to create new governance systems and enact policy reforms. The court ruling affects 121 charter cities that have local constitutions.

Attorney Pam Lee represented five Southern California cities in the lawsuit against the state and Attorney General Rob Bonta.

“This is a monumental victory for all charter cities in California,” Lee said.

However, general law cities are excluded from the court ruling as state housing laws still apply in residential areas.

Attorney General Bonta and his team are working to review the decision and consider all options that will protect SB 9 as a state law. Bonta said the law has helped provide affordable housing for residents in California.

“Our statewide housing shortage and affordability crisis requires collaboration, innovation, and a good faith effort by local governments to increase the housing supply,” Bonta said.

“SB9 is an important tool in this effort, and we’re going to make sure homeowners have the opportunity to utilize it,” he said.

Charter cities remain adamant that the state should refrain from making land-use decisions on their behalf. In the lawsuit, city representatives argued that SB 9 eliminates local authority to create single-family zoning districts and approve housing developments.

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Funds for Down Payments and Credit Repair Given to Black First Time Homebuyers

The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) won a $10,000 fair housing settlement last November against a property management company, CIM Group LP, a global real estate company headquartered in Los Angeles, and property owner, RACR Sora, LLC, for implementing a blanket ban on renting to tenants with criminal histories at Sora Apartments in Inglewood. Three months earlier, the department, which enforces California’s civil rights laws, won another $20,000 civil rights settlement against a Lemon Grove property manager, who had targeted a Black tenant with a series of racist actions and threats of violence.

Published

1 month ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

By McKenzie Jackson, California Black Media

Three months earlier, the department, which enforces California’s civil rights laws, won another $20,000 civil rights settlement against a Lemon Grove property manager, who had targeted a Black tenant with a series of racist actions and threats of violence.

CRD Director Kevin Kish said the department investigates cases of apparent racial bias in housing and sometimes more subtle acts of prejudice like nuisance-free or crime-free housing policies or holding tenants to different standards based on their race.

Kish said, “People will get evicted if they call the police. This can negatively impact victims of domestic violence. We also see these no-crime ordinances, or no-crime policies, used in racially discriminatory ways. If there is some kind of incident, and the police are called and it involves a Black family, then they get evicted, but other folks aren’t necessarily evicted.”

On April 11,1968, a week after Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, President Lydon B. Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, color, religion, and nationality.

Kish noted that William Byron Rumford, the first Black California State Assemblymember, who represented Berkley and Oakland, spearheaded the passing of the Rumford Act in 1963. That law sought to end discriminatory housing practices in the Golden State, five years before the Fair Housing Act became law.
Real estate agent and housing advocate Ashley Garner is the director of the CLTRE Keeper Home Ownership program. That organization gave 25 Black, indigenous, and people of color $17,500 each in down payment and credit repair support to purchase a home in Oak Park, a traditionally Black neighborhood in Sacramento, last fall. CLTRE obtained a $500,000 grant from the city of Sacramento to award the funds to the residents after they completed an eight-week homeownership program.

In 2021, the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) noted that around four in 10 Black California families owned homes, which trails that of White, Asian-American and Latinos.
According to Forbes, the median price for a home in California is over $500,000, which is double the cost of a home in the rest of the country.

Black lawmakers recently introduced their Reparations Priority Bill Package that includes support for Black first-time homebuyers, homeowners’ mortgage assistance and property tax relief for neighborhoods restricted by historic redlining.

California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) spokesperson Eric Johnson said CalHFA helps prospective low-income and moderate-income Californians purchase homes by offering down payment and closing cost aid. “There are lots of people who have steady jobs, good credit scores, constant income, but they haven’t been able to save up the money that traditional banks need or want to see for a down payment,” Johnson stated. “We help those folks out. We give a loan for the down payment to get them over that hurdle.”
CRD and the Department of Real Estate hosted “Fair Housing Protections for People with Criminal Histories” Zoom call on April 10.

On April 25, CRD will also hold Zoom seminars focused on advocating for fair housing for people with disabilities.