[1] One of his grandfathers was a bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME),[2] and Foster's mother Alice stressed education for all her children.

[3] As a young man, Foster was both exceptionally scholastic and rebellious, opting to frequent the Club Ziger where one had to "smoke a stogie and drink a lot of wine to get in."

[4] This broad range of youth experience aided Foster throughout his life, and he had an ability to connect with and inspire students of myriad backgrounds, while drawing together disparate adult groups advocating for alternative, at times oppositional, visions of social reform.

Republican incumbent John H. Reading won a third four-year term by defeating Democrat Bobby Seale, a co-founder of the Black Panthers and advocate of social programs.

Foster was shot dead on November 6, 1973, and his deputy Robert Blackburn was wounded, as they left a school board meeting.

The SLA sent letters to media claiming that they killed Foster because of his alleged support of a plan to require a student identification card system in Oakland, which they called "fascist".

[8] The proposed program was intended to reduce vagrancy and keep non-student drug-dealers off campus, and Foster had already gained support from the board to modify it to meet community concerns.

Foster was shot eight times with hollow-point bullets that had been packed with cyanide, a detail that the police did not initially publicize so it could be used as a calling card if necessary.

Police originally discounted the flyers from the unknown SLA, but when the group noted the cyanide in the bullets, law enforcement realized they had a claim.

These included the athletic fields at Gratz High School and the Marcus Foster Indoor Pool in Philadelphia, and the Student Union building at Cheyney University, his alma mater.

[12] In conjunction with Oakland-area businesses, the Institute awards 60 yearly scholarships ranging from $1000 to $2000 to Oakland high school students.

Patricia Soltysik and Nancy Ling Perry were founding members with him and shared leadership; they were posited as the group's main theorists.

By November 1973 and this killing, DeFreeze was the only black member of the small group; the remainder were younger white radicals, most of whom were middle or upper-class, and many of whom had college degrees.

Arrested in January 1974 and convicted of being involved in the attack on Foster, founding SLA members Joe Remiro and Russ Little were sentenced to life in prison.