Tigray-Ethiopian Communityassociation in Colorado

The first mass exodus of Tigrayan-Ethiopians occurred in the 1970s-1980s because of genocide, manmade famine, extreme violence and marginalization by the Ethiopian federal government. Many of those refugees were resettled in Colorado – making the state the largest concentration of Tigrayan-Ethiopians, estimated at half of the 70,000 people in the local community.

The Tigray-Ethiopian Community Association was founded in 1993 to support Tigrayans who were lost in an unfamiliar country and culture. The first generation Tigrayans faced language, culture and discriminatory issues that made it difficult to reestablish their lives. Tigrayans formed the community association to support their social, education and economic needs. The organization plays a significant role with Tigrayan children and young adults who struggle navigating two worlds simultaneously. These children often found themselves stuck in the criminal justice system with no advocates, in school systems with no support and easily falling prey to drugs and other violence.

Today, this minority ethnic group is again under genocide in their homeland where Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have said Tigrayans are being “ethnically cleansed” and experiencing “crimes against humanity” and “manmade starvation” at the hands of the Ethiopian government.

Local Tigrayans have not been able to reach their families in two years because of the complete siege on the state of Tigray. This has resulted in deep depression, suicide and drug abuse among the teenagers, young adults and elders. 

The vision of the Tigray-Ethiopian Community Association in Colorado is to become a lighthouse for generations of Tigrayans who are thriving in Colorado. The mission encourages people to lead engaged lives of meaning and purpose. The community center is a primary destination for Tigrayan engagement, a locus of learning and celebration, and a connector to Tigrayan heritage. The center serves as a public square for convening important conversation within both the Tigrayan and the broader community focused on Tigrayan ideas, principles, practices and values.