The original Merritt College was located at what is now 5714 Martin Luther King Jr. Way (then called Grove Street) in the flatlands of North Oakland.

[1] In 1960, the same year as the opening of Skyline High School, OUSD decided to relocate Merritt College from Grove Street to the hills of East Oakland.

Merritt Community College was the meeting place for prominent leaders of the Black Panther Party, Bobby Seale and Huey Newton.

[3] Against numerous protests by students and community members, Merritt was relocated from Grove Street to the hills of East Oakland in 1971.

"[citation needed] This site, now rehabilitated and serving as the north campus of the Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

Merritt College's occupational programs include nursing and health professions, community social services/substance abuse counseling, environmental management and technology, cybersecurity, computer information systems, landscape horticulture and environmental management, paralegal studies, real estate and restoration technology.