Dear Pierce College Community:
We honor the lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and other Black people who have been killed due to white supremacist structures and practices. At Pierce College, Black Lives Matter. We recognize the immense pain that many of our Black colleagues are feeling. We reaffirm our commitment and accountability to continue relentless pursuit of equity, peace, and justice for Black communities.
We also acknowledge the added emotional labor that many of our Black employees are undertaking in their support of students. We want to support this work in any way possible. To that end, we are looking to gather resources to support the college community.
Finally, we affirm our commitment to doing our part to dismantle white supremacy within our communities. This will require deep reflection for all of us about how we have internalized white supremacist culture, individually and collectively. We will have difficult conversations, but we will emerge more united, more powerful, more fully ourselves.
In the current and upcoming academic year, we will continue creating spaces to address and respond to the longstanding racial inequities within our communities. This is consistent with our mission to create quality educational opportunities for a diverse community of learners to thrive in an evolving world.
When we selected “Thriving through Care for Communities and Self” as our theme for the 2019-20 year, little did we know how much we would truly need this care. We are here, ready to listen, respond, and do better.
With respect,
Michele L. Johnson, Ph.D.
Chancellor and CEO
Darrell L. Cain, Ph.D.
President, Pierce College Puyallup
Julie A. White, Ph.D.
President, Pierce College Fort Steilacoom
Charlie Parker
Executive Officer of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion