By Eric K. Ward Last week, as we welcomed a new year that felt too much like the one before and observed the anniversary of the January 6 insurrection, there was appropriate attention paid to the durability of the Big Lie. …

The cultural power of music and humor was essential to surviving the attack of Measure 9 and surely earned some No on 9 votes. This month we remember some of the performers and satirists who gave us a break from the deadly seriousness of Measure 9; the Portland Gay Men’s…

Dreaming up this 30 Stories for 30 Years commemoration of the historic Ballot Measure 9 campaign, Eric and I knew it would be relevant to the fight we’re in today to defend inclusive democracy. But we didn’t imagine how much that relevance would deepen every day. With today’s ideological bias…

By Amy Herzfeld-Copple, Deputy Director of Programs & Strategic Initiatives “Our big bold BRAVE vision is a world where all people in all communities thrive … without fear, discrimination, violence or shame.” That’s part of the opening line in the Foreword of Western States Center’s We Are BRAVE Toolkit: A…

In earlier stories we’ve recalled some of the horrific violence of the Ballot Measure 9 campaign and the painful internal divisions within the LGBTQ community, including racism within the campaign and deeply-felt differences around campaign strategy. As harsh as those realities were, the No on 9 years were also a…

When Eric and I first brainstormed the arc of stories we wanted to tell to commemorate the 30-year anniversary of the Ballot Measure 9 campaign, he was clear that, early on, we needed to address the role of the press. Back then, when “digital” referred to something you did with…

Dear Friend,

In response to the arrest of Quintez Brown after an attack on a Louisville mayoral candidate, Eric Ward, Executive Director of Western States Center issued the following statement: “Political violence is never acceptable and does nothing to move us closer to justice. It’s unclear whether Quintez Brown’s attack was a…