Winds of Change Sweep the West

The spectacle of far-right hate groups launching violent attacks around the country cannot obscure the deeper changes that are transforming political and social life in Arizona and other western states, writes Ruxandra Guidi in a commentary for High Country News.

The January 6 invasion of the U.S. Capitol occurred as Congress was certifying Joe Biden’s win in formerly red Arizona, where Ruxandra lives and teaches. She says the lesson should not be lost on us.

“The Black-, Latino- and Indigenous-led civic movement that delivered our state’s election shows us that there are consequences for discriminating against communities of color, disenfranchising voters and underestimating their power and contributions to society,” she writes. “Arizona isn’t just the most predominant Western electoral battleground: It is a template for the future of the Western U.S.” 

Read the entire commentary here.

Photo: An organizer leaves a flyer at a home in a South Tucson neighborhood. Photo by Bear Guerra.