“In two separate Marysville incidents, several students made death threats against their classmates of color. Make no mistake: this is an attack on all of us.
“And it’s personal for me. I grew up in Marysville. I attended Marysville schools, and I’ve even worked for the Marysville School District.
“The photo, the inaction, the fear, the passing of blame—they are all representative of the systemic racism that has been pervasive in our nation since its founding. And that has no home in our schools or in our 38th District community.
“This is a community problem—an us problem. And it cannot be solved just by the removal of district leaders, a few hosted community conversations, or another diversity committee.
“Solving this problem will take daily courage from our leaders—leaders across Snohomish County with an ear to the ground in our communities. It will take courage to step up and to act. Courage to put in the work to end white supremacy and hateful rhetoric and violent threats against our neighbors.
“Racial equity is a lifelong and daily commitment to uphold dignity, humanity, and justice for everyone. It doesn’t just mean denouncing this specific instance of hate. It means ensuring all our young people have access to attorneys when confronted by law enforcement. It means ending the withholding of transcripts simply due to a library fine. It means we stop punishing students who miss school. And it means building a public safety system that truly serves BIPOC communities (HBs 1310, 1054 & 1267).
“I call on my fellow leaders to join me in offering more than just thoughts and prayers. To speak truth to power every day in the policies they enact and in their service to us. To not just make sure our kids are safe for the rest of 2021, but to ensure our children and their families are safe for generations to come. Do better—all of us.”