Reply #53

After Arizona voters voted against a MLK holiday, the size of the annual MLK parade through downtown Phoenix swelled to include large numbers of Arizona citizens across a broad spectrum, including yours truly (at that time, a politically inactive white male lawyer with a large Phoenix large firm), to protest the decision and let the rest of the nation know that there were many Arizonans who objected to the vote against MLK day. Not too long after that wonderful day, I was approached by a group of individuals in my Valley Leadership class (a diverse group of young professionals who were selected to learn about Arizona's institutions, ostensibly to foster greater leadership and activism among young professionals), all of whom were either African American or Latino, and congratulated (warmly I might add) for being a "brother". Seeing my cluelessness as to what they were saying, they showed me the cover of the latest Phoenix Magazine, which featured a photo of the crowd marching to downtown Phoenix from a bridge under which the crowd had to walk. There, in the middle of this culturally diverse crowd, dominated by black and brown faces, was this tall white man in a business suit with his sunnies on. Even though I looked like a secret service agent, I was walking with and in support of a crowd dedicated to the same principle, that we are all brothers and sisters regardless of our skin color, ethnic background, religious upbringing, etc. I'll never forget that day or how I felt when my "brothers" officially recognized that I belonged to the same community.

For the record, I should point out that Arizona voters later corrected their mistake by being the first state to adopt an MLK holiday by voter referendum. Arpaio and Brewer notwithstanding, there are lots of progressives in Arizona trying to turn the state blue. And today it was announced that Kyrsten Sinema finally won her election against Vernon Parker; I'll think DU will really like and embrace her.