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Marcus Foster
Marcus Albert Foster (March 31, 1923 – November 6, 1973) was an American educator who gained a national reputation for educational excellence while serving as principal of Simon Gratz High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1966–1969), as Associate Superintendent of Schools in Philadelphia (1969–1970), and as the first black superintendent of a large city school district. He was appointed in 1970 as Superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District in Oakland, California. Foster was assassinated in 1973 by members of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), a then newly founded domestic terrorist group.
Marcus Albert Foster was born in Athens, Georgia, the youngest of five children. When he was three, his family moved to Philadelphia, joining the Great Migration of African Americans out of the South. Raised by a single mother, he attended public schools in Philadelphia, graduating from South Philadelphia High School. One of his grandfathers, Rev. W.D Johnson, was a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), and Foster's mother Alice stressed education for all her children. She encouraged his mastery of Standard English. She highlighted its importance as the dominant syntax.
As a young man, Foster was both exceptionally scholastic and rebellious, opting to frequent the Club Ziger where one had to "smoke a stogie and drink a lot of wine to get in." Furthermore, as a member of the Trojans, a neighborhood men's club, his comrade Frye noted Foster "could hold his hands up". This broad range of youth experience aided Foster throughout his life, and he had an ability to connect with and inspire students of myriad backgrounds, while drawing together disparate adult groups advocating for alternative, at times oppositional, visions of social reform. He graduated in 1947 from Cheyney State College, a historically black university. He earned a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) from the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League institution.
His first cousin, Justine Wilkinson Washington, also became a noted educator.
From 1957 to 1970 Foster taught in the Philadelphia public schools, and served as Principal of Dunbar Elementary School, O.V. Catto School for Boys, and Gratz High School. He was noted for his work at Gratz, where he was more successful than predecessors in inspiring the students. He also served as Associate Superintendent for Community Relations.
Foster moved to Oakland in 1970 when he was appointed Superintendent of Oakland Public Schools. He was the first Black superintendent of a major urban school system. Robert Blackburn, a white colleague in Philadelphia, followed him and was appointed as a deputy superintendent.
Foster became highly respected in Oakland, negotiating in a volatile environment with numerous groups and people of various political orientations. He worked to raise the success of students in the minority-majority schools, where many families struggled with poverty.
There had been a record voter turnout in the May 1973 election for mayor, a part-time position. Republican incumbent John H. Reading won a third four-year term by defeating Democrat Bobby Seale, a co-founder of the Black Panthers and advocate of social programs. Foster worked with the groups they represented and also within the environment of a state governed by conservative Republican Ronald Reagan.
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Marcus Foster
Marcus Albert Foster (March 31, 1923 – November 6, 1973) was an American educator who gained a national reputation for educational excellence while serving as principal of Simon Gratz High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1966–1969), as Associate Superintendent of Schools in Philadelphia (1969–1970), and as the first black superintendent of a large city school district. He was appointed in 1970 as Superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District in Oakland, California. Foster was assassinated in 1973 by members of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), a then newly founded domestic terrorist group.
Marcus Albert Foster was born in Athens, Georgia, the youngest of five children. When he was three, his family moved to Philadelphia, joining the Great Migration of African Americans out of the South. Raised by a single mother, he attended public schools in Philadelphia, graduating from South Philadelphia High School. One of his grandfathers, Rev. W.D Johnson, was a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), and Foster's mother Alice stressed education for all her children. She encouraged his mastery of Standard English. She highlighted its importance as the dominant syntax.
As a young man, Foster was both exceptionally scholastic and rebellious, opting to frequent the Club Ziger where one had to "smoke a stogie and drink a lot of wine to get in." Furthermore, as a member of the Trojans, a neighborhood men's club, his comrade Frye noted Foster "could hold his hands up". This broad range of youth experience aided Foster throughout his life, and he had an ability to connect with and inspire students of myriad backgrounds, while drawing together disparate adult groups advocating for alternative, at times oppositional, visions of social reform. He graduated in 1947 from Cheyney State College, a historically black university. He earned a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) from the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League institution.
His first cousin, Justine Wilkinson Washington, also became a noted educator.
From 1957 to 1970 Foster taught in the Philadelphia public schools, and served as Principal of Dunbar Elementary School, O.V. Catto School for Boys, and Gratz High School. He was noted for his work at Gratz, where he was more successful than predecessors in inspiring the students. He also served as Associate Superintendent for Community Relations.
Foster moved to Oakland in 1970 when he was appointed Superintendent of Oakland Public Schools. He was the first Black superintendent of a major urban school system. Robert Blackburn, a white colleague in Philadelphia, followed him and was appointed as a deputy superintendent.
Foster became highly respected in Oakland, negotiating in a volatile environment with numerous groups and people of various political orientations. He worked to raise the success of students in the minority-majority schools, where many families struggled with poverty.
There had been a record voter turnout in the May 1973 election for mayor, a part-time position. Republican incumbent John H. Reading won a third four-year term by defeating Democrat Bobby Seale, a co-founder of the Black Panthers and advocate of social programs. Foster worked with the groups they represented and also within the environment of a state governed by conservative Republican Ronald Reagan.