Allen Temple Baptist Church is buzzing with chatter and upbeat music. On this warm Saturday morning in East Oakland, the church is hosting its annual holistic health fair.
Students from the nursing program at Oakland's Samuel Merritt University, are dressed in blue scrubs, hustling to give eye exams and check blood pressure.
A couple tables down, Samuel Merritt's chief diversity officer, Shirley Strong, hopes to talk with prospective students. The private university has one of the three biggest nursing programs in California, and is committed to reducing health disparities by recruiting more students of color.