The sold-out evening event will feature music by artists Xecutive Sweet, Jacqueline Hairston and the Traveling Voices Choir, John Turk and John Handy.

The two-year college, named after Oakland pioneer Samuel Merritt, is governed by the Peralta Community College District. It was first the Merritt School of Business and, along with Laney Trade and Technical Institute, was regulated by the Oakland Unified School District.

In July 1953, the school district's board created the Oakland Junior College and developed Laney and Merritt colleges as separate campuses of the institution.

Ten years later, Oakland voters elected to establish a separate community college district of Peralta Colleges.

Merritt College serves

6,500 students and offers transfer, technical and occupational education.

"We have assisted students in acquiring an education that has ultimately transformed the quality of life for themselves and their families," Merritt College President Evelyn C. Wesley said. "As a former student, I am proud to carry on Merritt's legacy of providing the community with access to a quality education that is second to none."

The event will begin at 6 p.m. in the college's student center.

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