History of Palouse EDJE

A group of concerned citizens of the Palouse came together as a result of the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 and the resulting Black Lives Matter protests. Calling themselves Palouse CORE - Council on Racial Equity - the group organized the largest protest in the history of Pullman. People at the protest wanted to see a Black Lives Matter mural. Out of struggles and difficulty with the city regarding the request for a mural, Palouse CORE was formed. The group worked closely with the Pullman Arts Foundation and raised financial support to have an End Racism Now mural painted on a privately owned exterior wall of a downtown building.

Additionally, CORE formed ties with other Pullman groups who work for equity and diversity in our community. This includes but are not confined to CORE collaborations Stop AAPI Hate, “Neighbors In Dialogue” work ongoing with two local churches, Community Congregational United Church of Christ (CCUCC) and Sacred Heart Catholic Church for support. CORE sponsored listening sessions for families of color who have experienced racial trauma; brought in guest speaker, Jesse Hagopian, editor of Black Lives Matter at School; held a book group; organized a voting rights march; initiated and collaborated with WSU for Pullman’s first ever Juneteenth celebration; organized a community circle with families threatened by racism at school with two school board members in attendance. Members of Palouse CORE worked for more than six months creating a constructive collaborative proposal for a Citizens’ Advisory Committee (CAC) that would work with the Pullman School Board to address unresolved, discriminatory bullying incidents that have been ongoing and largely unaddressed in the Pullman school district. The CAC proposal was read into the public record by five members of Palouse CORE at the February 14, 2024, meeting of the Pullman School Board (PSB).

During the summer of 2024, CORE collaborated with board members. The CAC was adopted by the school board in the fall of 2024 when a new Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) committee was formed by the school district consisting of school faculty, staff, students, and community members.

The success of the creation of the DEIB committee and the need for funding to be able to support more activities for our community made CORE members realize that they needed to adopt a more official structure and become a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity organization to qualify for grants and to receive donations. Careful deliberation resulted in the change of name from Palouse CORE to Palouse EDJE (Empowering Diversity, Justice, and Equity) so as not to be misidentified with the national CORE organization that has been in existence since 1942, which is also a non-profit entity. In September 2024, Palouse EDJE became a non-profit 501(c)(3) charity organization as classified by the IRS. In October 2024, EDJE became a registered Washington State Charity and soon thereafter, was the recipient of a generous grant from the Inatai Foundation that will be used to further the social justice and diverse cultural opportunities for our community. (See ABOUT and GOALS pages)