EXCERPT:
For many Inland people of color, the path to change in 2020 started in the streets, continued to the ballot box and ended in elected office.
From city hall to Sacramento and Washington, D.C., Inland Black and Latino candidates won seats and cemented their political power in the Nov. 3 election, bringing diversity and influence to groups that often did not see themselves reflected in elected leadership.
The gains followed weeks of protests around the globe, including the Inland Empire, stemming from the May death of George Floyd, a Black man, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, police custody. The protests brought renewed focus to issues of social justice — Inland cities and supervisors in Riverside and San Bernardino counties declared racism to be a public health crisis — and are credited with helping motivate people of color to vote in the November election.