Bay Area

Racist Bomb Threat Forces Evacuation of North Oakland Elementary School

Chabot Elementary School in the Rockridge District of North Oakland was evacuated Tuesday after receiving a racist bomb threat and “multiple threatening emails, phone calls and social media posts,” according to statements released by the Oakland Unified School District.

Published

3 years ago

October 5, 2023

Oakland Post

KRON4 reported the racist bomb threat against Chabot Elementary School in North Oakland.

By Ken Epstein

The threats came in response to an on-campus “Playdate” organized by Chabot’s Equity and Inclusion Committee last Saturday, “which was intended to build and promote positive affinity spaces for students and families of color,” wrote OUSD Supt. Kyla Johnson-Trammell, in an email to the public-school community.

These incidents are being taken seriously by the school district and the Oakland Police Department, and the FBI is “now involved in this active investigation,” wrote the superintendent.

The bomb threat and threatening messages followed in the wake of comments by a right-wing social media commentator who denounced the school community for organizing the playdate for families of color at the school.

Chabot Elementary, situated in an affluent Oakland neighborhood, has 560 students: 46% white, 13% Hispanic or Latino, 12% Black, 6% Asian, and 1% Hawaiian. Overall, the school district’s students are 11% white, 20% Black, 46% Latino, and 10% Asian.

Mayor Sheng Thao has committed to maintaining a police presence near the school for the rest of this week, and school district and city leaders, working with the school administration, will hold a community town hall next week.

“I am outraged that our children, educators and neighbors have been targeted by malicious threats,” said Thao. “My office is in contact with Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) as we seek answers. We are monitoring the situation closely”.

District officials mobilized central office staff to offer “coordinated safety and mental health support in place” for students, families, and staff at the school.

At about 8 a.m. on Tuesday, district officials learned of the bomb threat against the school and relocated school’s students and staff to a baseball field next to the school and advised parents who were arriving to take their students home.

“Officers arrived shortly after, secured the campus and conducted a thorough bomb search, before declaring an all-clear for Chabot to reopen (Wednesday),” according to the superintendent’s statement.

The school district informed police about the threatening messages on Monday. OPD learned of the bomb threat Tuesday at about 7:30 a.m. and notified the school’s principal. Because the report came before the beginning of the school day, only about 30 students were on campus, said OPD Capt. Lisa Ausmus, quoted in Oaklandside.

Police officers and dogs from the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office searched the school late Tuesday morning before announcing that the school was safe for students and staff to return.

“I will say that the (bomb threat) email has a racial undertone in it,” said Ausmus. “We’re currently investigating that right now. We have asked the FBI, and they’re going to come in and assist us with this investigation.”

Several parents who were involved in the school’s equity and inclusion group, which has been organizing the playdates for families of color at Chabot for the last few years, said that they began receiving hate emails and threats on Sunday after a flyer announcing the playdate was posted on Reddit, according to Oaklandside.

School Boardmember Sam Davis said in an interview with Oaklandside that the playdate “suddenly became a big deal” after the school district received “an inquiry from a conservative news site.”

He said the messages that were posted online about the playdate were “pretty hateful and just deeply offensive and racist. Just really awful stuff.”

In her letter to the school community, Supt. Johnson-Trammell pledged to protect Oakland students and families.

“OUSD remains, as always, committed to the physical safety and emotional well-being of our students, families and educators,” she wrote.

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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

16 hours ago

September 7, 2026

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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Youth-Led Black August Event Brings Past to Present at East Oakland Boxing Association

The mission of Youth Alive! Is to “break the cycle of violence, heal trauma, and uplift a thriving community of leaders, to save lives in Oakland and beyond” by serving “as mentors, youth leaders, counselors, case managers, intervention specialists and violence interrupters,” working “to help violently wounded people heal themselves and their community.”

Published

1 week ago

August 29, 2026

Post News Group

Dawna Williams, EOBA executive director speaks to attendees at the Black August Eperience on Aug. 21. Photo courtesy of Carolyn Flynn of EOBA.

By Jana Lang Propel Youth Reporter

Youth-Led Black August Event Brings Past to Present at East Oakland Boxing Association

The East Oakland Boxing Association (EOBA) and Youth Alive! came together on Aug. 21 to share with their community all that Black August means to them.

Held on EOBA’s patio at 816 98th Ave. in Deep East Oakland, the two organizations hosted their second annual Black August Experience, featuring a food tasting, financial literacy and mindfulness workshops, and voter registration with the League of Women Voters Oakland (LWV).

Black August is known as a time to uphold the legacy of prisoners who protested their conditions by fasting, fighting, and educating themselves on the economic and political circumstances that contributed to their incarceration.

According to its website, “EOBA is a multi-service youth and community development hub that goes far beyond the ring. While rooted in the discipline of boxing, for nearly 40 years EOBA has also integrated robust programs in workforce development, food justice, afterschool enrichment, financial literacy, mentorship, and wellness.”.

The mission of Youth Alive! Is to “break the cycle of violence, heal trauma, and uplift a thriving community of leaders, to save lives in Oakland and beyond” by serving “as mentors, youth leaders, counselors, case managers, intervention specialists and violence interrupters,” working “to help violently wounded people heal themselves and their community.”

Through Coro California, another leadership organization serving young people across the state for 80 years, they gained a broader understanding of Black August.

EOBA Executive Director Dawna Williams spoke about how much she learned about Black August from the youth who created it. “I let them educate me,” she said. Instead of talking about prison reform and mass incarceration, Williams and youth interns found that Black August meant so much more. “We would have done a disservice if we had just focused on who the people were and what their situation was…We tried to take their message from back in the day and make it relevant to the young people today. What do they need to know?”

Youth interns created and placed posters around the patio to help participants understand how traditional Black foodways, civic engagement, financial literacy, and the power of education are relevant to Black resistance today.

An EOBA member described Black August with Youth ALIVE! as “a whole vibe. “This year we added the Fun Zone for the kids, because you really cannot go wrong with a Fun Zone. I also loved seeing everyone chillin’ in the outdoor lounge, catching some Vitamin D and just enjoying a Friday evening together.”

The food tasting, a popular event from last year, featured traditional Black foods such as black-eyed peas, johnny cakes, and fried chicken. Led by Williams, the tasting included a talk about how these traditional foods were made and why they are forms of Black resilience.

The “‘Plate of History’ was a favorite of the online writers. “Fun, educational, and did I mention delicious? Our Taste of History cook, Angela Southall, served up some good eats while connecting food to history and culture.”

The writer also commended the “League of Women Voters Oakland for their civic leadership and for getting our young people informed, ready, and registered to vote.”

Overall, it was a “good Friday event in East Oakland,” the writer said.

Upcoming Black August events: Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), will host “Black August: The Arc of Liberation” at Oakland City Hall on Sat. Aug. 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The websites for East Oakland Boxing Association, Youth Alive! and CORO are sources for this report.

Jana Lang is an Oakland resident, teacher, gardener and poet participating in the Propel News Initiative.