Rural America is teeming with innovation, opportunity, and solutions to many flawed economic policies. And it always has been. Counter to the common narrative of the decline of all things rural, both history and experience tell a different story.
Because necessity is the mother of invention, rural America has always been and continues to be, the most experienced national proving ground for creative deployments of capital, revitalizations at scale, and far-reaching systems change.
Equating innovation and modernity with metro and urban areas is not new. Media outlets, publications, and politicos have promoted this myth for centuries for social and economic reasons. Yet, the modern American state was born from rural policymaking. Pick any historical reform movement, and you will quickly find a rural core.
As early as the turn of the twentieth century, rural communities organized their voice to make the bold case that inequality doesn’t need to be inevitable. According to Elizabeth Sanders in her book “Roots of Reform: Farmers, Workers, and the American State, 1877-1917,” these communities demanded “to use the expanded regulatory, social, and infrastructure-building capability of the national state to level the economic playing field.”
These rural demands built the federal government we know today: a system of capital deployment meant to fill market gaps. Yet, the struggle to influence the levers of such implementations so that they benefit rural communities and are best leveraged by rural know-how is an uphill political project.
Which brings us back to another consistent myth: the false idea that urban areas, in effect, “subsidize” rural America. First, such claims ignore that these regions were systematically stripped of capital for centuries and continue to bear the burden of extractive economies serving urban areas and global markets. Second, federal programs aimed at community development are largely urban-designed and urban-focused.
According to Tony Pipa and Natalie Geismar in “Reimaging Rural Policy: Organizing Federal Assistance to Maximize Rural Prosperity,” in any given year, only 0.2% of federal discretionary spending is granted to rural America. Private philanthropy does not fill this gap; the average real value per person of philanthropic giving is roughly half in rural areas of what it is in urban ones. Breaking it down even further, historical giving for community development has only been a paltry 5.69% of all rural grantmaking.
This Is Home
Rural America is this country’s heartland. Rural isn’t a place to leave – it’s where swaths of diverse populations come and thrive. It’s where traditions are passed down from generation to generation, perseverance and dedication are valued above all, and a sense of community runs deep.
Rural Americans don’t give up on themselves, so why should the rest of us? Not long ago, it was accepted wisdom that “national welfare required rural welfare.” We request a return to such wisdom. From the farm workers of California’s Central Valley to the next generation of healthcare workers being trained in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, to the farms of the Mississippi Delta as well as the wind farms of the Great Plains, rural has many different experiences with a shared persistence. Innovation and tradition intertwine to forge the backbone of this nation.
The Partners Are Shifting the Tide
It’s time for a new narrative on rural America. We at the Partners for Rural Transformation (PRT) know from experience that the work to eradicate persistent poverty in rural America is long and hard. Across our varied rural geographies, we leverage capital to support community-driven solutions for affordable housing, supplying healthy local food for families, funding small businesses, and innovating infrastructure to support local trailblazers and thought leaders.
From June 2022 to December 2023, we mobilized $1.11B in our communities, demonstrating they are all a far cry from sterility and decline. All of this, and more, is made possible by the fire that already burns in rural Americans to change their circumstances and bend the trajectory of their communities towards justice.
By amplifying rural voices and challenging the tired stereotypes perpetuated by the national discourse, PRT seeks to reshape people’s perspective of rural America. Don’t just take our word for it. Hear it from rural Americans themselves. Check out our Story Map, an immersive interview series from our rural neighbors.
For those seeking a more defined and well-rounded vision of rural America and who intuitively sense mainstream discussions on rural are incomplete at best, we invite you to join us in exploring and appreciating the true spirit of rural America and recognizing its importance in shaping the fabric of our society – both past and present. Together, we hold the power to shed light on the ingenuity, diversity, and resilience of rural communities.
Essence Smith is PRT’s Program Manager of Communications and National Partnerships. A Chattanooga, Tennessee, native, Essence is deeply passionate about social justice, environmental sustainability, and radical economic reform/equity, especially in rural America – which is reflected in her work.
Emily Burleson is PRT’s Senior Manager of Advocacy and Research. She is a 2021 graduate from George Mason University, obtaining her Master’s degree in social work. She has social science research experience, including qualitative and quantitative methods.
Daniel Elkin is the Director of Policy at come dream. come build. in Brownsville, TX where he oversees cdcb’s advocacy campaigns for affordable housing at the local, state, and federal level. He holds a PhD in history from the University of Arkansas where he studied 20th-century community development along the U.S.-Mexico border.
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