A celebration and memorial for legendary Oakland football coach John Beam is scheduled for next week on the Laney College campus.

The "Light the Path, Light the Field: A Luminaria Walk Honoring the Legacy of Coach John Beam" event kicks off at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Laney Bistro.

Participants will gather there and then walk to the football field along a path Beam himself often trod since coming to the school in 2004 as an assistant coach and then since 2012 as head coach of the Laney Eagles football team.

At the time of his death, Beam was working as the college's athletic director. A former Skyline High School football coach, Beam was a long-time mentor in the Oakland community and was made famous for his participation in the "Last Chance U" documentary series on Netflix.

"In a colle

See Full Page