Oakland, California, could soon become home to an HBCU, a development that could expand higher education opportunities for Black students and mark a significant milestone for the city.

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee and a local task force are behind the initiative. If the plan comes to fruition, an Oakland HBCU would join Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles as one of the few HBCU presences on the West Coast. The Oakland HBCU Initiative launched last year as a fiscally sponsored project of the Oakland Fund. Its volunteer task force includes Lee and leaders from Oakland’s business, higher education, civic, and philanthropic communities.

Supporters believe bringing an HBCU presence to Oakland could help address the number of California students who leave the state to attend historically Black institutions elsewhere.

Kim Thompson, a member of the Oakland HBCU task force, told The Oaklandside that because most HBCUs are concentrated in the Southeast, many California students who leave to attend them never return—something she described as a loss for the state’s workforce.

“That’s a big brain drain and loss of students who could be staying here and gaining access to high-wage STEM careers that the Bay Area has to offer,” Thompson said. “There’s a lot of students we think could benefit from the culturally affirming education that an HBCU could provide.”

This isn’t the first effort to expand the HBCU footprint in California. In 2024, San Francisco explored bringing an HBCU satellite campus to the West Coast during a summit involving HBCU leaders and local university administrators. In 2022, Paul Quinn College was also in talks to establish a campus in Oakland. Now, Oakland’s task force is exploring several possibilities.

The group conducted a feasibility study this year examining the potential economic impact of an HBCU presence in Oakland and identifying local industries positioned for growth. The findings are expected to be released in the coming months. According to KQED, the task force will then move into its next phase, which includes solidifying a list of interested institutions and identifying a potential location.

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Several models are being considered, including a satellite campus for a single HBCU or a hub where multiple institutions could offer classes. The task force is also exploring a partnership with the Peralta Community College District that could create a pathway for students to earn a four-year degree from an HBCU.

Howard University previously expressed interest in the project. Lee, who served in Congress for more than two decades, has said she can draw on relationships she developed with HBCUs during her time on Capitol Hill.

“They came out for a site visit; we had ongoing conversations with them for several months,” Thompson said. “Currently, they have an interim leader in place, so now is not perfect timing for them to be making a definitive decision on something like this, but we continue to keep them in mind.”

For Lee, the initiative is about more than expanding higher education opportunities. She believes an HBCU presence could help strengthen Oakland’s Black community. Lee noted that when she was elected to Congress, Black residents accounted for roughly 40% of Oakland’s population, compared with around 20% today.

“Here in Oakland, gentrification, redlining, and systemic discrimination have been drivers of bringing our population down,” Lee told The Oaklandside. “This would give some stability in many ways to the Black population and for everyone in Oakland to see that we still care about the Black community and Black students.”