Black to School: Bringing the Community Together to Set Our Youth Up for a Successful Year!
Our recent Black to School event was a powerful display of community right here in Oakland! Designed to set our Kings and Queens up for a successful year ahead, the event brought families together for a day packed with community resources, hands-on learning, and celebration.
We kicked off the day by opening up our street and backyard parking space at KOO Labs, transforming the area into a vibrant resource fair. Parents and youth walked through to connect with local organizations, collect valuable information, and enjoy delicious meals from food trucks, including Chef Green’s P.A.D. and Rolled It.
The heart of the event took place inside KOO Labs, where students participated in two rounds of interactive, creative workshops:
Fashion Lab: Students learned screen-printing techniques and printed their own custom tote bags to take home.
Music Production: Youth collaborated to write and produce a complete song together from scratch.
Animation: Using state-of-the-art software, participants turned their original drawings into live, moving animations.
Film Production: Students gained hands-on experience exploring media creation and production techniques.
Sankofa Kings Lab: Students explored app development and learned how to leverage AI tools to build solutions that benefit their local communities.
Seeing our students' eyes light up as they realized these creative tools were right at their fingertips was unforgettable. By the end of the day, every student left with tangible projects they created themselves, alongside new backpacks fully stocked with school supplies.
Events like this are only possible through collective support, and we are overflowing with gratitude. A huge, heartfelt thank you to all the incredible partners and vendors, including W.O.C.A.N. Clean Ports Project, Lincoln Families, DJ Sean Foster, KIPP Schools, Oakland Promise, YGB, Youth Radio, The Science of Black Love, Mandela Grocery Co-op, Attitudinal Healing Connection, Oakland Voices, and Oakland Natives Give Back, who showed up, provided resources, and stood with our Kings and Queens. We also extend our deepest thanks to Chef Green’s P.A.D. and Rolled It On for feeding our community.
Thank you to everyone at Kingmakers of Oakland, our dedicated vendors, and all the families who joined us. Together, we are showing our youth how much their community believes in them and supports their educational journey!