Abstract
Oakland Unified desperately needs a particular kind of school leader, and naysayers are skeptical that Superintendent Wilson can do the job. Before coming to Oakland, Antwan Wilson was the assistant superintendent in Denver, Colorado. At his previous job in Colorado, Wilson adopted the mantra of "Success for all. No excuses". He even made plastic bracelets with those words and handed them out to his staff and students. Antwan Wilson shares with me during our conversation in his expansive office on the sixth floor of the district building at 1000 Broadway in downtown Oakland, but he "always wanted to help people" and "impact injustice". He explains to me that when he was younger he wanted to "become Thurgood Marshall". At an African American Male Achievement community gathering, Superintendent Wilson addresses the crowd of students, families, and community members. For most people in the crowd, this is their first encounter with him.