The OCS Project
Preserving the History, Memory, and Legacy of the Oakland Community School
History & Legacy
The Oakland Community School opened to the community in 1973 as an elementary-level educational institution and closed in 1982. Notably it did not have grades; children advanced according to their need and ability. The motto was “The World is a Child’s Classroom” and they implemented an “Each One Teach One” practice. Critical thinking was central and the school attained a local, national, and international reputation for its approach that included restorative justice, performing arts, and urban farming – in the 1970s. The OCS Project LLC is a multimedia educational project created to preserve the history and facilitate community conversations around the Oakland Community School’s history and legacy.
From the Archive
From the Archive
Educate to Liberate
A Black Panther Photographic Time Capsule Unveiled
March 15, 2023
The OCS Project
Through The Years
1992-1999
1992: Submits BA thesis about women in the BPP. Learns about OCS during the research process.
1993: Submits MA Thesis about OCS
1996-1999: Becomes director of a BPP research project at Stanford University; begins annual summer internship program (Stanford, CA)
2009
Publication of a co-authored book chapter with Ericka Huggins, former director of the Oakland Community School: “Revolutionary Women, Revolutionary Education: The Black Panther Party’s Oakland Community School.”
2016-2017
2016: Begins plans for a documentary film about the Oakland Community School
2016: Co-organizes a panel and screens a trailer about OCS in Chicago during a conference commemorating the BPP’s 50th anniversary (Chicago, IL)
2017: Founds the OCS Research Project as an archival and public history project and begins locating archival resources and interviewing OCS alumnae.
2017: Presents about the OCS Project at the Schomburgh Center (Harlem, NY)
2018-2021
2018: Continues collecting archival material and oral histories
2018: Conducts workshops on the OCS archival project at the Univ. of Puget Sound
2018: Leads workshop at UC Berkeley History Social Science teacher education session
2019: Presents about OCS documentary film and archival project at the Univ. of Cinncinnati
2020: Co-curates The OCS Experience at the de Young as a pop-up event during the Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power, 1963-1983 Exhibit
2020: Begins the pandemic series of the OCS Project and transforms the project into a digital project
2021: Partners with the UC Irvine Humanities Center to co-found the Black Panther Oakland Community School Research Cluster (BPOCSRC), featuring an annual internship program
2022-2023
2022-2023: Receives an Oral History Association – NEH fellowship to work on the OCS Oral History Project
2022: Keynote Speaker for the California Digital Humanities Association Conference
2022: Coordinates an OCS session for educators at the Oakland Museum of California during the Comrade Sisters: Women of the BPP Book Tour event
2022: BPOCSRC interns present at the Oral History Association conference (Los Angeles, CA)
2023: Co-Coordinates, presents about the OCS Project, and hosts an OCS panel at “Educate to Liberate: A Black Panther Photographic Time Capsule Unveiled at Berkley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. Sponsored by UC Berkeley.
2023-2024: Hosts “Archivist Conversations” virtual series to commemorate the 50th anniversary of OCS.
2024-2026
2024-2026: Consultant and Video Installation Interviewee for “Each One Teach One: The History of the Oakland Community School” Exhibit at the Black Panther Museum (Oakland, CA)
2024: Screens the Educate to Liberate Photo Album and Soundscape at the BPP Film Festival (Harlem, NY)
2025: Receives an NEH Digital Publications fellowship to build a website to host the OCS Memory Book digital archive.
2025: Receives a Black Teacher Archive grant to support building the OCS Memory Book digital archive.
Coming Oct. 2026
The OCS Memory Book Project: A Digital Archive
The OCS Memory Book Project is designed to share the history of the Oakland Community School through archival documents and artistic representation. The collection with include photographs, video, and documents as well as projects created by OCS Project and BPOCSRC interns. Additionally, the digital archive will be activated by a table top archive game.
Curating
Curating resources and information for researchers and community members alike to learn the history of the community-centered educational institution is central to The OCS Project’s mission.
Creating
Creating digital projects and traveling exhibits is one of the primary ways The OCS Project archives and shares the history and encourages community engagement.
Collaborating
Collaboration was a hallmark of the Oakland Community School’s success, and, in the same spirit, The OCS Project pursues its current and future goals.