SACRAMENTO, California — The 1300 Campaign announced Thursday they seek to enroll 1,300 young men of color to California State University, Sacramento, and University of California, Davis by 2025.
Michael Lynch, the founder of Improve Your Tomorrow, said the campaign was so important because many Black and other men of color don't live to see the age of 30, let alone go to college.
"Boys and men of color are not always represented in the places they need to be," Lynch said. "We need to build a stronger pipeline to our schools."
Sacramento State reported 6% of its student population was Black in 2020. UC Davis reported 4% of its student population was Black in 2019.
The 1300 Campaign reported that roughly 1,200 men of color graduate high school while close to 735 students end up going to college. The organization added that roughly 218 of men of color go to a UC or CSU institution after graduation.
In addition to opening doors to college, the campaign's goal was to prepare students, educators, administrators, and community organizations to meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of minority youths in Sacramento County.
Lynch said, should the event be successful, the group plans to scale the program out for people of color in Stockton to also increase the number of minority students in college.
The number 1,300 was chosen as the goal to remember the 13th U.S. Constitutional amendment, which ended slavery while institutionalizing racism, according to the campaign's website.
The 1300 Campaign was an initiative of The Center at Sierra Health Foundation and the My Brother’s Keeper Sacramento Education Strategy Committee. Other organizations in support of the initiative included:
- Sacramento City Council
- State Senator Richard Pan
- UC Davis
- Sacramento State
- Elk Grove Unified School District
- Los Rios Community College
- and more
