California State University Chancellor Charles Reed had one message to black families during the Sunday morning service at St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church: Black children can get into the CSU system.
Reed spoke to about 1,000 parishioners at the church in Sacramento’s Oak Park neighborhood, emphasizing that good college education is a necessity in today’s competitive job market.
“You as parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles can give no greater gift to your children than a college education,” Reed said.
Sunday’s event was part of the annual CSU Super Sunday event, an initiative to inform black communities across the state about preparing and applying for college. Also present was Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson.
Sacramento State President Alexander Gonzalez and Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Joseph Sheley relayed the same message on Sunday at two different black churches in Sacramento. This year’s Super Sunday took place at 22 black churches in Northern California, according to a CSU press release.
“Our focus is doing everything that we can for African-Americans to understand what it takes to go to college,” Reed said.
Reed said black students face two major challenges in getting a college education.