S"tate Out of the Union" is award-winning journalist and historian Jeff Biggers' riveting account of Arizona, the famed frontier state whose conflict over immigration and state's rights has become a national bellwether. Biggers shows how Arizona's long history of labor and civil rights battles, its contentious entry into the union, as well as cyclical upheavals over immigration rights, place the state front and center in a greater American story playing out across the United States. From President Eisenhower's Operation Wetback to the legacy of Arizona native son Cesar Chavez to the powerful influence of the state's politicians, like Sen. Barry Goldwater and Tea Party President Russell Pearce, Biggers reveals how Arizona has played a pivotal role in determining the nation's conservative and liberal agendas.
Today, more than 25 state legislatures have introduced anti-immigration bills that are virtual copies of Arizona's controversial SB 1070 "papers please" law. The state is ground zero in the clash over a historic demographic shift taking place across the country with the rise of a newly empowered Latino electorate. But Arizona is not only home to some of the most virulent anti-immigration legislation in the country--it is also the birthplace of a new movement of young Latino activists and allies who have not only challenged the self-proclaimed architect of SB 1070 in a historic recall election, but are also mobilizing to defend the state's education system from censorship.
A lasting and important work of cultural history, "State Out of the Union" vividly unveils the showdown over the American Dream in Arizona--and its impact on the future of the nation.

"In old England, if a king didn't like you, he would cut off your head. Now, if they don't like you, they'll cut off your project "

As the Johnson Administration initiated its war on poverty in the 1960s, the Mingo County Economic Opportunity Commission project was established in southern West Virginia. Huey Perry, a young, local history teacher was named the director of this program and soon he began to promote self-sufficiency among low-income and vulnerable populations. As the poor of Mingo County worked together to improve conditions, the local political infrastructure felt threatened by a shift in power. Bloody Mingo County, known for its violent labor movements, corrupt government, and the infamous Hatfield-McCoy rivalry, met Perry's revolution with opposition and resistance.

In "They'll Cut Off Your Project," Huey Perry reveals his efforts to help the poor of an Appalachian community challenge a local regime. He describes this community's attempts to improve school programs and conditions, establish cooperative grocery stores to bypass inflated prices, and expose electoral fraud. Along the way, Perry unfolds the local authority's hostile backlash to such change and the extreme measures that led to an eventual investigation by the FBI. "They'll Cut Off Your Project" chronicles the triumphs and failures of the war on poverty, illustrating why and how a local government that purports to work for the public's welfare cuts off a project for social reform.

In old England, if a king didn't like you, he would cut off your head. Now, if they don't like you, they'll cut off your project! As the Johnson Administration initiated its war on poverty in the 1960s, the Mingo County Economic Opportunity Commission project was established in southern West Virginia. Huey Perry, a young, local history teacher was named the director of this program and soon he began to promote self-sufficiency among low-income and vulnerable populations. As the poor of Mingo County worked together to improve conditions, the local political infrastructure felt threatened by a shift in power. Bloody Mingo County, known for its violent labor movements, corrupt government, and the infamous Hatfield-McCoy rivalry, met Perry's revolution with opposition and resistance. In They'll Cut Off Your Project, Huey Perry reveals his efforts to help the poor of an Appalachian community challenge a local regime. He describes this community's attempts to improve school programs and conditions, establish cooperative grocery stores to bypass inflated prices, and expose electoral fraud. Along the way, Perry unfolds the local authority's hostile backlash to such change and the extreme measures that led to an eventual investigation by the FBI. They'll Cut Off Your Project chronicles the triumphs and failures of the war on poverty, illustrating why and how a local government that purports to work for the public's welfare cuts off a project for social reform.