UC Irvine’s Black Panther Oakland Community School Research Cluster (BPOCSRC) formed in Spring 2021 to advance research, teaching, and learning about the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense community survival programs through public programs, exhibitions, community archives, and digital project development.
Thank you to the donors who have supported undergraduate summer research fellows: Jim Guerinot, Mary Watson-Bruce, and the Parent Engagement Anteater Grant Initiative. Graduate student summer fellows have been supported by the the UCI Humanities Center's Humanities Out There Public Fellows program (including funding from the Mellon Foundation), the Office of Research, and the Schools of Social Sciences and Social Ecology.
Take a look at the exciting past and upcoming announcements involving the BPOCSRC!
Join us on Monday, August 26, for presentations by and conversations with our two summer 2024 BPOCSRC interns.
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Performing artist, author, and educator, Meres-Sia Gabriel, shares her memories of attending the Oakland Community School, reflects on her educational experiences and the trajectory that led her to be both an educator and an artist, and discusses the development of her one-woman show, "I Was There, Too: A Firsthand Account of Growing Up In the Black Panther Party."
Pam Ward, a young single mother when she learned about the Oakland Community School, gained invaluable knowledge teaching at OCS and as a comrade in the revolutionary Black Panther Party. She eventually earned a Master’s degree from Stanford University and has created a life-long commitment to the well-being of community.
In 2009, ericka huggins and Angela D. LeBlanc-Ernest co-authored a book chapter about women and the Oakland Community School. OCS Project Director LeBlanc-Ernest will revisit that article in light of the OCS archival material that has come available since the original article was published 15 years ago in Want to Start a Revolution? Radical Women in the Black Freedom Struggle (eds. Gore, Theoharis, and Woodard, NYU Press, 2009).
March 2, 2024 at 4pm CST
About Archivist Conversations:
Archivist conversations are a collection of conversations regarding the history and the Legacy of the Oakland Community School.
These discussions draw upon the archival material and experiential resources such as documents, oral histories, and multimedia material. They are a part of The OCS Project's yearlong commemoration of the Oakland Community School.
Curating resources and information for researchers and community members alike to learn the history of the Black Panther Party’s flagship educational program is central to The OCS Project’s mission.
Creating digital projects is one of the primary ways The OCS Project endeavors to archive and share the history and encourage community engagement.
Collaborating was a hallmark of the Oakland Community School’s success and it is in the same spirit that The OCS Project seeks to accomplish its current and future project goals.
