Educator.  Foster served as the Principal of Simon Gratz High School in Philadelphia, and later was the first black superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District in California.  He was murdered by the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) because of his supposed support of a plan to create a student identification card system for the school district; in reality, Foster had opposed the plan and was working to revise it.  The SLA also believed Foster supported the idea of police officers in schools, but he was opposed to this as well.  Several sites have been named in his honor, including the athletic fields at Gratz High School and the Marcus Foster Indoor Pool in Philadelphia, where the movie “Pride” was filmed.  The Marcus Foster Educational Institute in Oakland annually awards over 60 scholarships to students in the area.   (bio by: Jennifer M.)