In its 21st year coming to Oakland, the annual Black College Expo is expected to draw thousands of students and their families to the Oakland Marriott City Center on Saturday, Feb. 17, to talk with admissions counselors and have the chance to win scholarships.
The program is for high school juniors and seniors and college students looking to transfer. In addition to scholarships, students will have the opportunity to gain college admission on the spot and have their application fees waived. More than 50 colleges will be represented, including historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), as well as institutions like UC Berkeley and Yale, said Cynthia Adams, who serves as director for the Bay Area/Northern California region for the National College Resources Foundation, which hosts the expo.
It’s also a cultural affair, where students can see Black college culture, like sororities and fraternities, on display. Last year, the event drew more than 10,000 people, Adams said.
“That’s a day when you actually see family, sisters and brothers, strolling … you see fathers and mothers together, you see churches bringing busloads of kids,” Adams told The Oaklandside. “It’s a family affair.”
The Black College Expo tours the country and makes a stop in Oakland each year. The National College Resources Foundation is a nonprofit that aims to lower the high school dropout rate and expand college access for youth from underrepresented backgrounds.
Those interested in attending the Expo can get tickets online or at the door. The event will also feature seminars and workshops about internships, careers, finding money for college, student athletes, and more.
Historically Black colleges are primarily in the southern United States and many were founded in the years following the Civil War to provide higher education to African-Americans. Some of the more well-known HBCUs are Howard University in Washington, D.C., and Spelman College and Morehouse College in Atlanta. California’s only historically Black college is Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles. It’s also one of only four medical schools at an HBCU.
HBCUs are open to everyone, and have educated prominent Black Americans including Vice President Kamala Harris, Martin Luther King Jr, Oprah Winfrey, and Chadwick Boseman.
The Black College Expo is also happening as momentum builds to bring a satellite HBCU campus to the Bay Area. Paul Quinn College, a historically Black college in Dallas, previously announced it was eyeing Oakland for a campus, while Oakland Deputy Mayor Kimberly Mayfield previously told The Oaklandside she was committed to bringing an HBCU to the city, possibly to the campus of the former Holy Names University. San Francisco Mayor London Breed also recently held a gathering to explore bringing an HBCU satellite campus to downtown San Francisco.
