A century ago, violence of a brutal nature broke out in southwest Washington when two ideologies clashed: the anti-Bolshevik American Legion and the radical organizers of the Industrial Workers of the World, the IWW—better known as the Wobblies. The violence left its scars on the streets of Centralia in Lewis County in November 1919, and the legacy of that date is still debated.
Starla Sampaco speaks to Crosscut Associate Opinion Editor Mason Bryan and Crosscut Editor-at-Large Knute Berger about the complexities of red and blue inclinations in Washington and journalism’s role in reconciling the political divide in the state.