| The thin young man appeared oblivious to the thick mist raining down on him on the edge of the Laney College campus Thursday morning. His bloodshot, watery eyes suggested he had been crying as he stood in front of a shrine of votive candles, posters, pennants and heartfelt notes, all left for John Beam, a beloved football coach who led generations of young players in Oakland. |
| There's been a lot of grieving since another young man walked into Laney's athletic offices and shot Beam in the head for no apparent reason. The San Francisco Chronicle reported the 27-year-old suspect — who was acquainted with Beam but had not played for him — told investigators he was convinced Beam had somehow used "witchcraft" on him. |
| Beam, 66, died a day after the attack in Oakland, where for more than four decades he coached, first at Skyline High School and then at Laney, a community college near Lake Merritt. |
| Many stories following his death focused on the fact that about 20 of his players went on to play in the National Football League. But what made Beam stand out in this city of occasional triumph and routine tribulation was his heart. He devoted himself to young people who often didn't have the money, family support or academic resources of kids who got into four-year colleges. While so many other people seemed to abandon Oakland, Beam stayed. |
| "The reason you are seeing this overwhelming response and all this sadness is that he was more than a coach," said Frank Williams, an Oakland native who became a showrunner in Hollywood. "He was like a surrogate father, especially for a lot of young men and women who didn't have a parent in the home. He put his life and his heart on the line for that city." |
| Beam loomed large in the city of 440,000 and in college football for years but became known to the wider world in 2020, when Netflix released the fifth season of "Last Chance U," the documentary series that focused that year on the Laney College football team a year after it won a state championship. |
| The series delved deeply into the struggles of mostly Black and brown players, who often came from poverty and broken homes. One of Laney's stars worked at a fast-food chicken joint and slept in his SUV every night. The show also spent considerable time with players who had endured family violence and or had children while barely out of childhood themselves. |
| Beam emerged as one of the heroes, with his blend of profane competitiveness and avuncular goodwill. One moment he screams obscenities at a player for missing an assignment; the next he urges his hyper-masculine charges to allow themselves to be vulnerable. The coach preached that asking for help was not a weakness but "a power move." |
| This week it was hard to find a corner of the Laney campus not occupied by a beefed-up security force, which one guard said had been increased from 30 to 40. |
| Just two months ago Essential California reported how crime in Oakland had dipped, noting cautious optimism among some residents. This week the Laney College community despaired at how violence had, nonetheless, invaded the campus and the modern steel-and-glass athletic office building that overlooks the football field. |
| Beam, 66, retired as football coach last year but remained on as athletic director. NFL players he mentored came to a massive tribute along with doctors and laborers and others who credited the coach with helping them find their best selves. |
| Romeo Garcia befriended Beam years ago when both were working with young people in Oakland. Garcia went on to become a fundraiser for Laney and its sister campuses in the Peralta Community College District. |
| "John continued to do good in Oakland, no matter what," Garcia said Thursday. "What I would ask people to do is to continue to do that good. You can't give up on the city when it needs you the most." |
Today's top stories |
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After a day of working in the fields, this 17-year-old relaxes by rows of strawberries in the Salinas Valley, renowned as the "Salad Bowl of the World." (Barbara Davidson/Capital & Main) |
Unsafe conditions and fear threaten California child farmworkers |
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The Hollywood fight over Warner Bros. |
- Warner Bros. is up for sale and Paramount, Comcast and Netflix are expected to submit proposals for all or parts of the company.
- These nonbinding bids mark the first phase of the auction that could put some of the best-known brands in entertainment, including HBO, CNN and Warner Bros. film and television studios, up for sale.
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More rainfall hits Los Angeles |
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New findings on the January wildfires |
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Mental health in L.A.'s Thai community |
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Trouble in tech |
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More big stories |
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Commentary and opinions |
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This morning's must reads |
| | | Mindy Seu's latest work, 'A Sexual History of the Internet,' is a participatory lecture that intersects with a 700-page book revealing the pervasive and often-uncredited sexual roots of technology. | | | |
Other great reads |
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| Keep up with California | Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times. | | | | | |
For your downtime |
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| The northern lights, or aurora, as seen earlier this month from Angeles Forest Highway in Angeles National Forest. (Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times) |
Going out |
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Staying in |
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And finally ... the photo of the day |
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Megan Weinraub sits in her Volkswagen T2 bus known affectionally as Azul. The VW appeared in photos of the aftermath of the Palisades fire in January. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times) |
| Today's great photo is from Times staff photographer Robert Gauthier of Megan Weinraub in her Volkswagen T2 bus, Azul, which survived the January Palisades fire and has become a community symbol of hope. |
| Have a great day, from the Essential California team |
| Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
June Hsu, editorial fellow
Andrew Campa, weekend reporter
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters |
| How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com. |
