Tagged: Race

The sound of James Brown’s raw and soulful voice rumbles through the speaker, carrying on it the words “Say it Loud!” The call & response is followed by the roaring audience: “I’m Black and I’m proud!”

At church on Sundays, African-American students are hearing a possibly unexpected pitch alongside the familiar sermon: Come to Cal State University.

Officials from the California State University system have been pioneering a program of seeking new prospective African-American students in church pews — a program that's serving as a model for similar efforts elsewhere.

Blacks make up about 6.6 percent of California's population, according to 2011 census data. Jorge Haynes, a Cal State spokesman, said the university system's African-American population is 5 percent.