Editor’s note (8/8/24): This story has been updated to correct several errors, including erroneous quotes, a misidentified photo and a wrong total for the scholarships awards, among other issues. We regret and apologize for the errors.

By Anyla McDonald

For the past two decades, a Tri-Cities nonprofit has been working to highlight the accomplishments of the Black community.

The African American Community Cultural & Educational Society celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. AACCES began as a group supporting the history and recognition of African Americans and has since expanded to support the Mid-Columbia community through educational activities and outreach programs.

Scholarships

Recognizing the academic accomplishments of African American students is important to AACCES. Scholarships are one form of recognition, but it is important to note that scholarships offered by AACCES are open to all students.

Ten students received AACCES scholarships totaling more than $25,000 this year.

In all, the nonprofit has honored students with nearly $300,000 in scholarships since its inception in 2003.

In the past, AACCES contributed toward a credit retrieval program for middle and high schoolers to help offset summer school tuition so students could make up credits to graduate on time.

 AACCES offers scholarships to attend Columbia Basin College in Pasco.

The group’s Martin Luther King Jr. scholarship and the William Owen Bush scholarship provide $2,500 each to Washington State University Tri-Cities students in any field of study.

It also gives out awards.

This year’s AACCES Civic Excellence Award went to Michael Watson and Micah Fitzgerald. Watson recently graduated from Delta High School and Columbia Basin College with high honors and plans to attend WSU.  

Fitzgerald recently graduated from Richland High School and Columbia Basin College. She was the founder of the Black Student Union at Richland High. She plans to major in pre-law.  

Dr. Denise Algood, center, shakes hands during a past Senior Awards Night. Leonard Moore, founding member of AACCES, is at far left. 

| Courtesy AACCES

Connecting to the community

AACCES offers a variety of activities to connect the community.

It has organized community concerts for the public, and it held a black tie gala to celebrate its 20th anniversary last fall.

AACCES also has done its part to highlight local civil rights activists, including Art Fletcher and Katie Barton, who were the first African Americans to serve on a city council in the Tri-Cities.  

AACCES worked with WSU Tri-Cities on an oral history project highlighting the contributions of African Americans who worked at Hanford during the Manhattan project.

In 2022 Leonard Moore, AACCES history and recognition committee chair, collaborated with the Washington State Historical Society and WSU Tri-Cities to place a monument honoring William Owen Bush on the WSU Tri-Cities campus. He wrote and pushed through the legislation to establish a land grant college in Pullman that later became WSU.

 “AACCES is important to me because of its focus on education and enriching our local community culture,” said Vanessa Moore, treasurer of AACCES.

To learn more about AACCES, go to aacces.com.

Freelancer Anyla McDonald of Richland, a 2023 Walla Walla High School graduate, has written for Tumbleweird and other publications. She was recognized as one of the Walla Walla Union Bulletin's “39 under 39,” which recognizes young leaders in business, health care, arts and culture, education, public service, nonprofits and advocacy.