California’s first Black-serving institution: Sacramento State

By Williamena Kwapo | OBSERVER Staff Writer

In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1348, creating the nation’s first official designation for Black-serving institutions. The historic legislation recognizes colleges and universities that actively invest in the success of their Black students.

This past summer, before the governor signed the bill, the Assembly recognized Sacramento State as California’s first Black-serving institution. With more than 2,000 Black students, the most of any CSU campus, Sac State has embraced its role as a trailblazer.

To qualify as a Black-serving institution, a school must have at least 10% Black student enrollment, or a minimum of 1,500 Black students, and demonstrate dedicated resources and programs tailored to their academic achievement and well-being.

Under President Dr. Luke Wood, the university has launched a range of initiatives to attract and support Black students. “We meet every morning to strategize how we market to Black students,” Dr. Wood said. “We have a pretty significant marketing campaign that we’ve been doing for a year now focused on Black students in both high schools and community colleges.”

Authored by outgoing Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena), SB 1348 establishes a status for identifying institutions with strong programs and a track record of fostering Black student success.

“We know that African American enrollment has declined over the last decade,” Bradford said. “So this is a way to let Black students who are applying to college know which college or university is welcoming but also supportive, and have the wraparound staff to make sure that they’re successful.”

Beyond enrollment, Sac State is revolutionizing student experiences. This fall it launched the nation’s first Black Honors College, a program dedicated to celebrating Black academic excellence and providing tailored support. The university also introduced culturally significant programs such as a drumline and majorette team, reminiscent of those at HBCUs.

“There’s no more clear path to upward socioeconomic mobility for most people in the Black community than education,” Dr. Wood said.

“Unfortunately, Black people who are living in regular communities know more people who dropped out, who had a bad experience rather than being in an affirming environment, who felt isolated and marginalized rather than feeling supported,” he continued. “We want to change the entire way in which the Black community sees the dividends of higher education.”

SB 1348 arrives at a pivotal moment for higher education. In 2023, the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action, leaving universities nationwide grappling with how to maintain diversity and support historically underrepresented students without explicitly considering race in admissions. While the bill isn’t a direct response to the ruling, it aims to ensure that institutions remain focused on enrolling and supporting Black students, helping to close persistent achievement gaps.

Bradford emphasized that predominantly white institutions should see the designation as a chance to reassess their approach to attracting and retaining Black students. “They can never achieve the status until they get that Black student enrollment up to the requirement. That means changing what they’re doing that has prevented those specific students from applying or getting accepted,” Bradford said.

SB 1348 follows other federal programs with similar goals. Hispanic-serving institutions were officially recognized in 1992, and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions first were designated in 2007.

“The goal is to see not just greater student enrollment, but higher graduation rates and students taking on less student debt,” Bradford said. The designation currently carries no financial aid requirements for the institutions.The process for becoming a Black-serving institution will be overseen by the CSU Statewide Central Office for Advancement of Black Excellence. Decisions will be made by an eight-member governing board, including representatives from California’s higher education systems and state leadership.

Support for this Sacramento OBSERVER article was provided to Word In Black (WIB) by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. WIB is a collaborative of 10 Black-owned media that includes print and digital partners.

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