Don't Wait for Better Leaders. BECOME Them. (6th story)
There's something beautiful happening in West Virginia
Today we bring you the sixth story in our Week of Citizening.
🛑 Today’s focus: if you’re tired of limited political choices, look to West Virginia Can’t Wait. They are upending the political process by recruiting and supporting regular folks to step up where government has failed them.
Check out today’s story in this Instagram Reel. If you don’t want to engage on that, here’s the LinkedIn version. We’ve reactivated the How To Citizen podcast feed with these stories, so check Apple Podcasts or your own podcast player if you prefer audio.
Now…
Today we bring you Story #6 in our Week of Citizening.
We’ve already shown you how people are rethinking democracy through libraries, labor, and school boards. Now we’re headed to a place often overlooked but brimming with democratic possibility: West Virginia.
We’re told politics is about picking the lesser of evils. Ordering off a fixed menu. But what if we left the table… and headed for the kitchen? That’s what the folks behind West Virginia Can’t Wait are doing. And it’s a clear sign that democracy is evolving.
They’ve passed legislation that’s rare even in liberal strongholds
They don’t run candidates but communities
They help hold elected officials accountable and offer ongoing support
This is what Jon Alexander calls the shift from Consumer Democracy to Citizen Democracy. Not just new processes like Citizens’ Assemblies or Participatory Budgeting (though we love those too) — but real people getting a grip on the systems we’ve got, starting from where we are.
“One of the things I’m most proud of in my career is helping to demystify politics. It’s just everyday work for everyday folks.”
— Rosemary Ketchum, West Virginia Can’t Wait
This isn’t happening in some liberal stronghold. This is Appalachia — a place many assume to be too red, too rigid, too far gone. But that’s just not the whole story. I’ve seen firsthand the level of commitment and creativity in Appalachia through my recent travels there for my PBS America Outdoors show. Trust me, these stories are happening in all sorts of underestimated places.
💬 Who else is opening politics to everyday people?
Visit stories.howtocitizen.com, join our list, and let us know you have a story to share. You can also comment on this post, reply or tag us on IG/LinkedIn. These stories are everywhere — and we need them more than ever.
🎥 Video produced by Tess Novotnoy. This story series is a collaborative effort of Shira Abramowitz, Jon Alexander, Elizabeth Stewart, and Baratunde Thurston.
Let’s citizen!
Here’s a link to all our stories so far:
Our kickoff launch post featuring Baratunde and Jon Alexander.
1st story: libraries as civic powerhouses
2nd story: on “participatory layoffs”
3rd story: overcoming divisions on a school board
4th story: best way to help? start with listening.
Where the edges blend. . .when the hills are burning nobody cares if you're a democrat or a republican. When the river's flooding nobody cares if you're a Christian or a Hindu.