Black churches spread gospel of higher education
- February 15, 2010
By Nanette Asimov
Chronicle Staff Writer
The pulpit at many black churches has become a place to pray to a higher power - and praise higher learning.
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of the dream of reaching the promised land- with education!" cried the man addressing the congregation Sunday at Greater St. John Missionary Baptist Church in West Oakland.
The words came not from the pastor, but from the president of California State University East Bay, Mo Qayoumi, whose remarks were also carried live on KDYA the Light, a gospel radio station.
On Sundays throughout February, Qayoumi and other university leaders are fanning out to more than 100 black churches across the state to spread the gospel of higher education in a program they call Super Sunday.
They're aiming their message mainly at the families of middle-school children, preaching the idea that it's never too early to prepare for college.
"Today, only 1 in 5 African American students is eligible for CSU," Qayoumi told the hundreds of congregants who packed the pews of the large and ornate church at 1909 Market St. "Partner with us so we can get the other four eligible, too!"
He was talking about getting more kids into CSU's five-week "algebra institutes," free summer programs for middle and high school students that focus intensely on math but include visits to companies so students can see engineers and other math professionals at work.
Education summit
Qayoumi also wants students and parents to come to Cal State East Bay on Saturday for a college fair billed as "Education Summit: Closing the Achievement Gap for African American and Latino Youth."
Super Sunday premiered five years ago at 24 black churches in Oakland and Los Angeles, and has grown steadily since then.
While black students represent only about 6 percent of all CSU students (compared with about 8 percent of high school seniors in California), CSU applications from black students have soared between 2005 and 2009, Qayoumi told the worshipers.
Records show a 78 percent increase - from 8,737 to 15,550 - compared with a 26 percent increase in the five years before the program.
Undergraduate enrollment of black students also has increased. Between 2004 and 2008, black enrollment grew by 20 percent, to 22,167 students across 23 campuses. By contrast, it grew just 8 percent in the previous five years.
The recruitment effort comes at a time when cash-strapped CSU is set to reduce enrollment by tens of thousands of students next year, and closed its doors to new students this spring.
CSU Chancellor Charles Reed said the church program is not at odds with the university's plans.
"Even with the budget climate the way it is, we need to get across to the young students and their parents what it takes to go to college," Reed said. "You really have to start in middle school to take the sequence of classes to be eligible."
Don Juan Hutchinson, 16, could not have agreed more.
"If I had started in middle school, it would be easier for me now," said the 10th-grader at the Oakland Military Institute, a public school. Don transferred there after last year's Super Sunday program featured a representative from the school who touted its college prep program.
"If I didn't go, then I'd probably be farther behind and have no chance at college whatsoever," said Don, who wants to become a chef and own a restaurant someday.
'I want to be successful'
Several of the children in the congregation, girls and boys, said they hoped to become basketball or football players - not exactly the scientists and engineers that Qayoumi talked about from the pulpit. But the children all wanted to go to college.
" 'Cause I want to be successful," said Marcus Royal, 14.
"You have to have good grades to play for Cal," said Destiny Woods, 11.
As they chatted, their mothers and grandmothers scooped up the brochures and flyers at the CSU information table in the church lobby.
"I think it's hard for parents to really get the information we need about college," said Shira Lloyd, who has two children, 6 and 11. "This really helps."
Cal State workshop
"Education Summit: Closing the Achievement Gap for African American and Latino Youth," for middle and high school students and parents, will be from 8 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. Saturday at 25800 Carlos Bee Blvd. in Hayward. For information, call (510) 885-3516. Breakfast provided.