Jean Wing — Oakland ‘warrior’ for education equity
Jean Yonemura Wing, a champion of equity in education, and a retired Oakland Unified School District administrator, died March 29. She was 70.
A Berkeley High School graduate, Wing earned her master’s degree in education at UC Berkeley. She dedicated her career to eliminating the education gap, District Superintendent Kyla JohnsonTrammell said, beginning as a parent of a student at Berkeley High School, where she served on the diversity project, an effort involving teachers, parents, students and researchers to reduce differences in academic achievement from 1996 to 2002.
She later was involved as an Oakland Unified administrator on equity projects, “a tireless advocate for the students of OUSD,” JohnsonTrammell wrote in a letter to the community. The superintendent lauded Wing for her battle to achieve equity.
Wing was coauthor of “Unfinished Business: Closing the Racial Achievement Gap in Our Schools,” with Pedro Noguera. The book looked at the outcome of the diversity project and the work that remained to be done.
Until her retirement in June, Wing worked with Oakland Unified’s Research, Assessment and Data Department for 16 years. She was responsible for the district’s equity dashboard, and used data to push for equity in the schools. She was also involved in the African American Male Achievement Program, which aims to promote the success of Oakland’s Black male students in the classroom and life.
The program led to the creation of the Kingmakers of Oakland, and Wing volunteered as a mentor and leader for the organization. She helped create the district’s Men of Color Project, which debuted this year, employing young men who graduated from Oakland schools to help tutor kindergarten students.
“I was sad when she left the district because she was such a joy to work with, and I knew how much she meant to the organization,” JohnsonTrammell wrote. “But of course, after spending decades in support of students here in Oakland and in Berkeley, a peaceful retirement was welldeserved. Now, less than a year later, I am devastated. We all are.”
Rep. Barbara Lee lauded Wing in a Twitter post as “a woman warrior for justice, dignity of all people & the wellbeing of children. Rest in peace & rest in power Jean.”
Former presidential candidate and civil rights activist the Rev. Jesse Jackson remembered her in a lengthy essay on his Facebook page.
“Today is a dark hour,” he wrote. “With Jean’s departure, there is a hole in our soul. We lost one who touched our hearts and minds. Jean had all of our attention without being loud or boisterous.
“We look back on these moments with pride. When blacks were attacked, Jean stood with us. When the children of Oakland were underserved and marginalized, Jean displayed nonnegotiable dignity.
“When Jean talked, she made the children comfortable. And she loved teaching someone else’s children beside her own.”
She is survived by her husband, Butch Wing, and daughter, Teri Wing.
Memorial donations may be made to Kingmakers of Oakland.