Honoring Women’s History Month 2026: Oakland’s Legacy of Leadership

As Oakland Unified School District marks Women’s History Month this March and recognizes International Women’s Day on March 8, we join a global observance that honors the achievements of women and recommits us to equity, dignity, and opportunity.

Women’s History Month began not as a federal declaration, but as a local educational effort. In 1978, educators in Santa Rosa organized “Women’s History Week” after recognizing that women’s stories were largely absent from textbooks and classrooms. Their advocacy expanded statewide, and by 1987, Congress designated March as Women’s History Month. What began as a correction to curriculum gaps became a national commitment to ensuring women’s leadership is visible and valued.

That origin story is rooted in education, a fact that matters deeply to public school systems like ours.

Here in Oakland, women’s history is inseparable from the story of the city itself.

Oakland’s Legacy of Trailblazing Women

Oakland has long been shaped by women who transformed industries, movements, and institutions.

During World War II, women from across racial and cultural backgrounds stepped into industrial labor at the Kaiser shipyards, expanding opportunity and challenging norms about who could occupy public and economic spaces. In the decades that followed, women were central to the civil rights, labor, immigrant justice, and liberation movements that defined Oakland’s reputation as a center of organizing and community care.

Oakland was home to pioneers including Delilah L. Beasley, who became the first African American woman to write a regular column for the Oakland Tribune, documenting California’s Black history so it would not be erased. That legacy of barrier-breaking continued with March Fong Eu, a proud graduate of Oakland public schools who became the first Asian American woman elected to the California State Legislature and later served as California’s Secretary of State.

In the late 1960s, women helped sustain community initiatives such as the Free Breakfast for School Children Program, launched in Oakland in 1969 by the Black Panther Party at St. Augustine’s Church, grounded in the belief (now proven to be a fact) that students cannot learn if their basic needs are not met. That initiative expanded to 36 cities, feeding thousands of children, and influenced the federal government's permanent expansion of the School Breakfast Program in 1975.

Oakland’s history reflects women organizing, teaching, feeding, and leading with conviction. At Oakland Unified School District, that legacy continues to guide our daily work.

Schools Named for Women Who Led

Several OUSD campuses carry the names of women whose leadership reshaped public life, names that serve as daily reminders of civic courage and educational equity.

Edna Brewer Middle School

Renamed in 1989, Edna Brewer Middle School honors a longtime Oakland principal known for steadfast advocacy on behalf of her students and school community.

During a period of significant demographic and systemic transition in Oakland through the 1970s and 80s, Brewer was a stabilizing force. She championed the unique developmental needs of middle school students, insisting that the transition years between childhood and high school be met with rigorous academic standards and unwavering emotional support.

 

Sojourner Truth Independent Study 

Born into slavery in 1797, Sojourner Truth became one of the nation’s most powerful abolitionists and women’s rights advocates. Her courage extended to the courts: she became the first Black woman to successfully sue a white man in a United States court to secure the freedom of her son.

Her legacy reminds us that movements for equality must be inclusive, intersectional, and willing to challenge the legal systems of their time.

 

 

MetWest High School (with its campus named for Dolores Huerta and Ericka Huggins)

Dolores Huerta’s decades of labor and civil rights organizing expanded protections for workers and families across California.

She advocated against toxic pesticides to protect the health of farmworker families, and she coined the enduring rallying cry “Sí, se puede,” proving that the language of organizing can inspire generations.

Former Black Panther Ericka Huggins’ leadership in education helped shape conversations about community-based schooling. Under her direction, the Oakland Community School became a nationally recognized model for holistic education, prioritizing student nutrition, mindfulness, and critical thinking decades before such approaches became widely adopted in public education.

Each name honored on campus serves as a daily reminder that advocacy, civic courage, and educational equity are interconnected.

Women Leading Across Oakland Unified

Women’s leadership continues to shape Oakland Unified in tangible ways. Across the District, women guide classrooms rooted in belonging, lead schools through complex environments, advance culturally responsive instruction, and ensure students are nourished and supported.

Through our Oakland Grown storytelling series, OUSD has highlighted leaders such as Jaliza Collins, College and Career Readiness Specialist at Fremont High; Dr. Alexis Gray-Lawson, Community Schools Manager at Oakland Tech; and Amapola Obrera, Principal at Frick United Academy of Language. Their work reflects the depth of leadership present across campuses and central offices throughout the District.

That excellence is also embodied by Grass Valley Elementary fourth-grade teacher Rasheedah Jones, who was recently honored by the San Francisco 49ers’ with the NFL’s Norma Hunt Super Bowl Champion of Education Award for exemplary dedication to students. The award came with tickets to the Super Bowl. 

OUSD is committed to cultivating the next generation of leaders through initiatives such as African American Female Excellence (AAFE), which strengthens academic, social, and emotional outcomes for young Black women. The District also partners with organizations such as Girls Who Code to expand STEM pathways, bringing women from the tech industry into all-girls computer science classrooms at campuses, including Bret Harte Middle School. Through mentorship and representation, students see firsthand that they belong in fields where women have historically been underrepresented.

That leadership pipeline is already producing historic results. Oakland Tech senior and Sojourner Truth Independent Study student Shayna Ward became Oakland’s first girls wrestling state champion last weekend, completing an undefeated 36–0 season. Her achievement reflects both individual excellence and the growing strength of girls' athletics across Oakland schools.

Lastly, I want to honor the eight remarkable women who preceded me in serving as Oakland Unified Superintendent starting with the first, Ruth B. Love who served from 1976-1981. She was followed by Edna Washington, Carolyn Getridge, Carole Quan, Kimberly Statham, Roberta Mayor, Devin Dillon, and finally, my immediate predecessor, Dr. Kyla Johnson-Trammell. I thank them all for their leadership, and for paving the way for me to take on this role.

Throughout March, OUSD libraries and classrooms will highlight expanded Women’s History Month collections through Sora, offering age-appropriate resources that center women’s voices.

This month and every month, let’s celebrate the women who shaped Oakland and our world, those who continue to mold our schools and society, and those who will lead us into the future.

In community,

Dr. Denise Saddler
Superintendent