TCC Stands with AAPI Communities

A Message from TCC President Ivan L. Harrell II, Ph.D. 

Dear Campus Community,

The shootings in Atlanta that killed eight people, of which six were Asian women, has once again raised alarms about the increased number of targeted attacks against Asians. Although the incident is still in its early stages of investigation, the fact that six of the eight people were Asian can’t be ignored.

Since the pandemic started, Stop AAPI Hate, a coalition that tracks incidents of violence and harassment against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the U.S., reported nearly 3,800 instances of discrimination against Asians in the past year. The actual number is believed to be much higher. These incidents have targeted our most vulnerable community members, including the elderly and women.

I’ve written statements over the past year that condemn these incidents, and the TCC Board of Trustees, Gov. Jay Inslee and WACTC all have written similar statements that support our Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. We must not only say these words, but act these words.

Our commitment and participation in normalizing anti-racism requires everyone’s participation every day, not just after horrible massacres that grab national media attention. I urge all of you to act on these values on and off campus. Our Significant Other affinity group leads and the Asian Pacific Islander Committee are considering how to take action as well, and when ready, they ask you to join their efforts.

We wish to assure our Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander members in our TCC family that you are not alone. You have an entire community standing with you. We will be strong for you when you feel sad, alone or frightened. We will speak up with you and not be silent. We are your family, and together we will defeat this.

Thank you,

Ivan