MY TURN: Did we just witness a Color Revolution? No — we watched democracy work

Let’s be clear: What happened at North Idaho College wasn’t some shadowy “color revolution.” It was ordinary people doing what they’re supposed to do in a free republic — standing up, speaking out and using the power of the ballot and the law to correct what they believed was a grave injustice. That’s not a revolution. That’s democracy.

The breathless paranoia on display in this complaint — let’s call it what it is: a sore loser’s lament — paints a picture of a sinister cabal of protesters, foundations and accreditors conspiring to bring down a few far-right ideologues. But the reality is simpler and far less dramatic: the KCRCC-backed trustees made a series of reckless, ideological decisions that endangered the college’s accreditation, and the public — including students, educators, alumni and taxpayers — responded. Not with violence, not with “lawfare,” but with civic action.

Here’s the truth: Accreditation is about standards, but not just test scores or financials. It’s about governance. It’s about institutional integrity. When trustees start firing presidents without cause, violating open meeting laws, interfering in operations and driving out staff at record rates, that threatens accreditation. And that’s exactly what happened under the KCRCC-aligned trustees.

Claiming the accreditation crisis was “manufactured” is like setting a building on fire and blaming the firefighters for showing up.

If the Gates Foundation supports DEI — good. That means it supports access, equity and opportunity in education. If the NWCCU responded seriously to concerns about governance and equity, that means its doing its job. But the idea that DEI alone sparked a regional accrediting body to invent a crisis just to unseat a few local ideologues is laughable and gives way too much credit to a handful of trustees who were in over their heads.

Let’s talk about the so-called “revolution.” It wasn’t chaos. It was accountability. The people of North Idaho — tired of seeing their college dragged through national headlines, lawsuits and boardroom meltdowns — rallied. They organized. They voted. When vacancies occurred because trustees either quit or were removed through due process, they were replaced legally by the State Board of Education, following the law. Not some smoke-filled backroom plot.

And now that normalcy is returning to NIC — enrollment stabilizing, accreditation back on track — the far-right faction that wrecked the place wants to rewrite the story. Of course they do. It’s easier to pretend you were the victim of a conspiracy than to admit you lost because the community rejected your extremist, anti-education agenda.

As for the jab at DEI and the Trump administration’s so-called “ban?” That might excite the political base, but it has no bearing on NIC’s obligation to maintain inclusive, quality education for all students. Idahoans are smart enough to know that banning equity doesn’t erase the need for it — it just forces us to fight harder for it.

This isn’t a cautionary tale about revolution. It’s a reminder that when citizens engage — when they speak out, organize and vote — even entrenched political machines like the KCRCC can be held accountable.

What happened at NIC wasn’t a revolution. It was a rescue.

And it’s just COMMON sense.

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Blair Williams is the owner of The Art Spirit Gallery in Coeur d'Alene.