By Sterling Davies | OBSERVER Staff Writer
When Sam Starks went to college in the 1980s, it felt “like going to 13th grade.” Starks, a Sacramento State alumnus and founder of MLK 365, recalled that in the past, the Black community wasn’t expected to attain, nor was it properly supported in, reaching higher education.
“You look back and realize that we were wholly unprepared for college and what that would entail,” Starks says.
Starks believes obstacles and hurdles that were put in place for African American students in the past stemmed from institutionalized racism and the overall belief that achieving academic excellence wasn’t meant for Black students.
That is changing. Sacramento State has implemented new plans to continue its fight to open the door for students to explore Black culture, history, and life through their education.
On Aug. 8, Sac State held an opening ceremony for its new Black Honors College, created to give more opportunities to study African American history and culture. The event brought together leaders from across the world, including representatives from Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and a South African legislator, who spoke at the opening. It was a bicontinental display of Black unity.
Sacramento State President Dr. Luke Wood believes the honors college fills a gap within university education. Outside of HBCUs, no colleges highlight Black culture and life, making Sac State’s Black Honors College a first of its kind.
“We can be everything an HBCU is [except] historical,” Dr. Wood notes.
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Living up to its name, the Black Honors College will have a specialized focus on teaching courses with an emphasis on highlighting Black history and achievements. Most of the college’s professors have degrees in and experience teaching subjects involving race and Black history. Additionally, Sacramento State invited Dr. Frank Harris III to help guide the faculty on how to conduct courses through an Afrocentric lens.
Dr. Harris, a professor at San Diego State University and associate dean of diversity, equity and inclusion at SDSU’s college of education from 2022 to 2024, is recognized for his contributions to information surrounding college student development and the social construction of gender and race within a college environment.
Dr. Wood hired Dr. Harris to ensure that the courses taught at the new college would be relatable to the African American community experience, regardless of subject. “It’s important to help faculty come up with the ideas and the strategies to make sure you’re centering the Black experience in what it is they teach,” Dr. Harris says. So when students take a biology course, for example, they’ll be surrounded by not only the research of Black scientists, but also an emphasis on how various diseases affect the Black community.
These strategies, which are implemented across all the college’s courses, let students “walk away feeling a sense of empowerment,” Dr. Harris says. “Empowered to accomplish, tackle and pursue their goals, regardless of how big or how challenging they may seem.”
Black Honors College students can apply to live in shared housing as part of a “living and learning community,” the college web page states. This also will be paired with academic advisors, counselors, and therapists to better support the students through their education.
Dr. Boatamo Ati Mosupyoe, dean of students and chief academic officer of the college, believes these steps will help “create an environment and culture where students will be taken care of and academically equipped, but also welcomed.”
Wood has high hopes for the Black Honors College to also improve Black graduation and retention rates. The college’s creation is a direct response to the CSU chancellor’s 2023 report, which noted lower persistence and graduation rates among African American students.
In 2022, Black students at Sac State had a 69% persistence rate after their first year, which was the lowest rate since 2008. At universities, persistence rate is the percentage of students who return for their second year. In comparison, the average persistence rate of non-Black students was 82%, an increase in recent years.
The Black Honors College hopes to reverse this trend for Black students by creating an environment that “is going to elevate Black excellence and Black student excellence,” Dr. Mosupyoe says. The honors college will feature smaller classes with 25 to 30 students, which will be taught by faculty with demonstrated experience in fostering a supportive environment and excellence based on student reports.
The Black Honors College also hopes to create a sense of leadership and courage within its students. Part of the college’s plan is to host biweekly seminars with various speakers and leaders throughout Sacramento that foster economic empowerment, self-determination, and courageous leadership. These seminars will take place inside 6,000-square-feet of space dedicated to the honors college inside Sac State’s library.
While Sac State has received concerns about the required 3.5 GPA for the college and the limits this might create, Dr. Mosupyoe notes how it has only opened the door to show the success of Black students within the community. The fall 2024 semester saw 200 first-year students apply for the Black Honors College with 80 students being accepted.
“What this shows is there is Black excellence out there,” Dr. Mosupyoe says. “It’s just that some people perceive Black students as less achieving, but they are achievers. So the amount of applications that we received is a testament to the response from students, parents, and the community.”
While the college has begun to accept first-year students, it’ll be open to transfer and current Sac State students in spring 2025.
Dr. Booker Cook, an ethnic studies lecturer at Sac State who is scheduled to teach at the new college, says how the college creates opportunites for students to increase their self-motivation and self-interest. “I’m looking forward to facilitating a class, engaging with [the students], and bringing these next years and nurturing, supporting, and doing whatever I can,” Dr. Cook says. “It’s difficult to find words to describe the beauty of what Dr. Wood has done with this school.”
Starks is one of many Sacramento community members who also believe in the future of the Black Honors College. At the opening ceremony, Sac State reached full capacity with more than 525 attendees. “You can talk all day long about hopes and prayers,” Starks says, “but this college does the equitable work to create access and opportunity for all people to thrive.”