Ally Spots Around Town
Story by Megan Foster | Design by Maddy Larsen | Photos by Dylan Hanson
Walking down Main Street in Ellensburg, the store's windows fill your peripheral vision. Street lights reflect off the glass and the muffled conversations from inside the nearby restaurants and bars fill the silence of the night. A small rainbow sticker catches your eye and you realize, these stores are allies.
While many associate the term ally with LGBTQIA+ support, ally is a term for more than just the queer community. An ally is an individual who provides assistance and support to any minority group. An ally is someone who fights for more than the majority. How is Ellensburg an ally to their community?
Ellensburg Through the Years
In order to discuss Ellenburgs efforts toward a diverse environment, it is important to establish the town's history with diversity.
Ellensburg was once a cherished land for neighboring tribes. According to historians, it was a sacred space to collect the fruits of the basin. Settlers moved onto the land, building the town that now sits before the Kittitas Valley.
With the introduction of the railroad in 1886, the town flourished and the population diversified. The once nearly barren town is now home to roughly 19,596, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Graph
78.1% white
2.1% African American
0.5% American Indian
2.2% Asian
0.8% Native Hawaiian
10% Hispanic or Latino
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/ellensburgcitywashington/PST045221
The graph above shows the race and origin of Ellensburg’s population. Understanding the people of Ellensburg is crucial to supporting their needs. Establishing, implementing and upholding a diverse and inclusive atmosphere is a big feat, but it is one the city of Ellensburg is willing to take on.
Part of the Conversation
Ellensburg continues to facilitate these important conversations. In 2021, Ellensburg city council approved the formation of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission (DEI). “The purpose is really to support the city council in creating and celebrating a diverse, equitable and inclusive community that’s welcoming to all residents and visitors,” says Nicole Klauss, Ellensburg’s public information officer and staff member to the commission.
Prior to the formation of the commission, the Ellensburg city council held a series of listening tours around the community, “Now we have a subcommittee of our commission members that set up a time to meet with a specific group,” Klauss explains.
Alongside this, the DEI has held numerous events that facilitate community discussion. “Last year, they had their first event belonging in the Burg, which was a partnership with CWU and the Ellensburg School District, and it was a community discussion, trying to bring people from all sorts of backgrounds together in Ellensburg to talk about what does it mean to belong? And what do you have to give to belong or give up?”
These conversations have continued, on April 8 the DEI held their second Belonging in the Burg event, they hope to hold these events twice a year moving forward.
The DEI commission also holds monthly meetings to discuss the information they’ve gathered and what is coming next for the community. “They'll talk about other upcoming events and opportunities to get involved,” says Klauss, “They talk about how they're using their budget. So, it's just kind of a typical government meeting where the agendas are set, and just trying to work at chipping away some of these tasks that they put on their work plan.” All the city’s meetings are open to the public, in person and online via Zoom for those who would like to participate.
Home of the Wildcats
“Central Washington University will be most successful when equity, diversity, and inclusion are in every program, every college, and all throughout the university,” reads the university’s inclusivity and diversity statement.
Central Washington University (CWU) offers an array of resources for students, on and off campus. On campus you can find the Diversity and Equity Center, “We provide holistic student support, identity-based & cultural programs, and social justice workshops to cultivate a sense of belonging and community at Central Washington University (CWU) and beyond,” says the DIversity and Equity Center’s website.
There are many ways to get involved, the Diversity and Equity Center organizes identity-based affinity programs where students can establish community and a sense of belonging. This includes THRIVE: Women of Color Empowerment Program, Q*Fam: A 2LGBTQIA+ Support Program and Find Your People, a collaboration with student led organizations to facilitate opportunities to build community. Updates and events can be found on their social media.
The Diversity and Equity Center at CWU also collaborates with student-led organizations to facilitate cultural events across campus. This quarter they orchestrated events for Black History Month, Ramadan and Pride.
While CWU has resources for their students, that doesn't mean the students' needs are being met. In recent years CWU students and staff have been fighting for a Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI) on campus. While the CWU Diversity and Equity Center serves their students, the students' needs have outgrown the space.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, CWU’s student body is 53% white, 18% Hispanic, 9% two or more races, 6% unknown, 5% Black, 5% Asian, 3% non-resident alien, 1% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and 1% American Indian/American Native.
The CCI would offer minority students a designated space with resources tailored to their specific needs. “The CCI is a project that has been ongoing for ten years,” says the CWU Observer, “The CCI would provide a properly equipped kitchen so that students could cook cultural foods, a conference room, a worship room for all faiths and dedicated space for identity based student organizations.”
Taking Pride in the Community
Being proud of the place you live is constitutive to your happiness living there. In Ellensburg, members of the community have taken it upon themselves to foster an environment they feel a part of.
In recent years, Ellensburg High Schools LGBTQIA+ youth have been targets of brutal bullying and harassment. Students have spoken out about their experiences, in a CWU Observer article from earlier this year, students expressed their frustration with the administration after little to no change.
Helen House is a LGBTQ+ youth center in Ellensburg, dedicated to providing a safe space for members of the community. Tylene Carnell, the director of Helen House, has lived in Ellensburg for over 20 years and came here to find her community. “A big thing in my own personal experience as a trans person was that I had to leave the life I love to find love for life,” says Carnell, “I had to leave the small community that I lived in in order to find other people like me.”
Carnell’s personal experience fueled her drive. When presented with the opportunity to start a grant for a LGBTQ+ youth space in Ellensburg, she knew her mission. “Our kids don't have to leave their communities to find people like them, they can find support and resources, leadership and mentorship right here where they live, right here where they are,” she says.
Keelin Pattillo, the board president of Kittitas County Pride, has lived in Ellensburg since 2018, struggled to find her community. “I knew there were others like me out there, but I felt like at the time it was, everybody was kind of hard to find,” says Pattillo. Last June, Pattillo met with friends to get the ball rolling on a pride organization in Kittitas County, “We started a nonprofit, got our 501 c 3 status,” she says, “we obviously had to create a board and I volunteered to be the board president, so that's how I got into this position.”
“The mission of Kittitas County Pride is to educate and promote LGBTQ+ awareness of diversity, health, culture and acceptance,” says Pattillo. While this is their focus, this isn’t all Kittitas County Pride is about. “Over the holidays, we put together a gift basket for an underprivileged family who couldn't afford gifts for their young kids. So, it's not just about us, us, us.We also definitely are trying to give back to the community in any way that we can,” says Pattillo.
Around Town
Ellensburg has taken necessary steps to ensure they are actively taking steps towards facilitating an inclusive environment, but how can the community do their part? Orchestrating this kind of atmosphere and allocating the necessary spaces, events and resources is a lot of work, which means there’s always ways to help.
The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission in Ellensburg wants to hear the voices of the community and put in the work to make their wants and needs a reality. Nicole Klauss, the city’s public information officer and staff member to the commission, emphasizes the importance of showing up for your community. “Just being willing to listen and maybe see what you can do. Have those conversations, maybe branch out and go to an event you wouldn't normally go to and meet people from a different community, just trying to be open and inclusive,” says Klauss.
Taking part in these organizations, events and conversations helps a community to thrive. Many hands make light work and with so much happening within Ellensburg “We're always looking for volunteers”, says Tylene Carnell, the director of Helen House.
Support can be physical, emotional and monetary. Keelin Pattillo, the DEI’s board president, discusses her appreciation for such a strong presence of support during pride, but wants to extend this excitement year round. Pattillo recalls a time she went to Kittitas Valley Hospital, doctors’ scrubs and name badges were decorated with stickers and pins, some depicting rainbow flags. “That, for me being a queer person, kind of helped me feel a little more comfortable at the doctor's office,” says Pattillo.
Don’t dismiss the effects of kindness and inclusivity, in today’s world a smile could be all it takes to make a person feel safe and welcome within their surroundings.
“Diversity is a fact, but inclusion is a choice we make every day. As leaders, we have to put out the message that we embrace and not just tolerate diversity” says Nellie Borrero, Managing Director, Senior Strategic Advisor of Global Inclusion and Diversity at Accenture.