Her untimely death may have been due to her support of Oakland teachers during a labor dispute in 1996. Reverend Coty spoke out on behalf of striking teachers. She even set up a tent in front of the OUSD administrative offices and went on a hunger strike, demanding the district comply with the teachers’ concerns or she would simply starve herself. When others tried to move Coty, worried about her health, she responded by saying, “I am not budging. I am not moving. I am not going anywhere. Whatever is going to come is going to come and I am going to pay the price. This is my will.” When two children saw her they asked, “Why are you starving yourself?” Coty replied, “I am doing this for my son, for the children of Oakland because you need to be in school.”