MSJC Board Adopts Resolution Supporting Black Students

The Mt. San Jacinto Community College District Board of Trustees on Thursday, June 25, 2020, unanimously adopted a resolution supporting dismantling systemic racism and ensuring the success of black and African American students at MSJC.

The 5-0 approval followed a presentation from MSJC faculty and staff that featured a moving 7-minute video of five MSJC students talking about their experience with racism from very early ages. The students -- all leaders of student clubs and programs at the college -- also shared their hopes in the aftermath of the May 25 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Honestly, I just hope it stops," said James Parker, a math major and past president of the Phi Theta Kappa chapter at MSJC. "I hope no one has to lose a family member, a brother, a son, a sister, you know, to police brutality. That'll be the ultimate goal short term. I also hope that we continue to come together, that we can listen to each other and understand," the 25-year-old Hemet resident said. "I wish for like a happily ever after -- that we can all get along."

"I mean, we're like the main race that's always been hated upon and I'm just trying to still figure out why," said student Marlisea Thomas, 28, of Hemet.

Earlier this year, the college unveiled the MSJC Equity Pledge that ensures that the college’s mission, vision, values, and institutional policies and practices model and support equity, inclusiveness, and institutional excellence.

Mt. San Jacinto College serves about 27,000 students in a district covering 1,700 square miles from the San Gorgonio Pass to Temecula, with campuses in San Jacinto, Menifee, Banning and Temecula. In May 2020, MSJC awarded a record-breaking 3,554 degrees and certificates to 1,958 graduates.