As a parent of a student currently attending Western Washington University, I am appalled by that university’s recent decision to implement student housing segregated by race (“Black Affinity Housing Program”).
I am appalled that we have a public institution in Washington that embraces any form of racism. I recall former Vancouver City Councilor Pat Jollota speaking to Leadership Clark County about the Vancouver Housing Authority during World War II, when ours was the only housing authority in the country that did not allocate housing by race. Understanding the context of that time in America’s social history, I took pride in her description of our community that rejected racism in housing. To now see our once-progressive state revert back to overt racism, and for that overt racism to be led by a public institution of higher education, is truly shocking. It is beyond disturbing and literally shames us as Washingtonians.
