NBC Bay Area reports that Mayor London Breed, along with city and business leaders, announced “Black 2 San Francisco,” which aims to bring HBCUs to downtown San Francisco. 

The University of San Francisco, San Francisco State University, and the University of California at San Francisco will also join in on the initiative.

“In San Francisco, we are working to build partnerships that strengthen our leadership as a center of education, innovation, and opportunity,” Mayor Breed stated, according to the outlet. “By bringing HBCUs to our City, we can not only create a connection to empower our next generation of leaders, but we can also contribute to the revitalization of our City. I want to thank all of our private sector supporters, as well as USF, UCSF, and SFSU for their partnership in this work and continued commitment to San Francisco’s future.”

The Human Rights Commission is expected to host HBCUs in the summer of 2024, the outlet notes.

“I’m honored and grateful to see this convening coming together today,” San Francisco Human Rights Commission Executive Director Dr. Sheryl Davis shared in a statement. “After many years of planning, and months of seeding and working to create meaningful partnerships, all the stakeholders are together to explore how we can connect San Francisco to the incredible talent that has historically been cultivated and supported by HBCUs. Our local higher education partners have been actively involved and are central to this project.”

She continued, “These efforts have been a long time coming from both community conversations to design the Dream Keeper Initiative and recommendations from the Reparations Advisory committee. I am heartened to see where the work goes from here.”