Marcus Albert Foster was 50 when he was assassinated on November 6, 1973, while leaving a school board meeting in Oakland. Foster, the first Black superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District and a widely regarded educator, was shot multiple times; the bullets were reported to have been laced with cyanide. His deputy, Robert Blackburn, was also ambushed and was severely injured but survived.

Members of the Symbionese Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack. The group said they targeted Foster because they believed he supported student identification cards and increased police presence in schools, measures they viewed as oppressive; those beliefs about Foster’s positions were mistaken in light of his efforts to expand educational opportunity and community involvement. The FBI and local law enforcement launched a major investigation, and several SLA members were later arrested and prosecuted in connection with the group’s crimes.

Foster’s death profoundly affected the Oakland community and education advocates; the Marcus A. Foster Educational Institute was established in his honor.