How rural U.S. can grab bigger megaphone
The geographic remoteness of the homes, farms and businesses of millions of rural Americans leaves them underrepresented in power centers such as state capitals and Washington and, too often, victims of stereotypical narratives in the media.
That’s simply an obvious reality to those forced to watch from afar as one major public-policy decision after another gets made in urban locales.
One person who recognizes this is Mike Gecan, senior organizer at Metro Industrial Areas Foundation based in Chicago. In something of a social experiment, Gecan is attempting to address obstacles faced by populations who are disadvantaged by residing in far-off areas of the map.
Gecan visited me a year or so ago while I was still publisher and editor at the Times-Gazette in Hillsboro. He described his bold idea — to apply the same organizing techniques to rural America that have proved successful in big cities.
A couple of weeks ago, Gecan emailed to say he had just visited several Ironton, Gallipolis and Portsmouth, where “the organizing is going slowly.” He added that my prediction “that miles would be my main obstacle (had) been exactly right. The distance between places really works against any critical mass of leadership and momentum.”
Gecan found that one of the most effective ways he can reach people is by using an institution many see going by the wayside in the Internet age — the public library. In Gallipolis — population 3,641 — Gecan described the local library as “extraordinary” and “the new town center.” He wrote that the facility “has a wonderful meeting room” and “300 hot spots that people take out to have internet access (and a six-week waiting list for more of them).”
Those hotspots are significant. Thousands of residents in southern Ohio and millions in other rural outposts across the United States still lack broadband Internet service.
It’s impossible for people in more densely populated regions to understand how disconnected rural residents can feel. They’re seldom covered by the media unless it’s for a grisly murder or natural disaster.
But towns such as Piketon, Portsmouth, Ironton and Gallipolis include beautiful neighborhoods, successful businesses, thriving college branches and modern government buildings — not to mention stunning natural landscapes. They are made up of people and organizations lifting up their communities through amazing volunteer work, but their efforts seldom get the attention lavished on similar accomplishments in metropolitan areas. In short, they lack a megaphone.
Gecan’s objective is to empower small, rural communities using the same basic philosophy that Metro IAF has employed in big cities — to “connect individuals and organizations to multiply their power, and organize people by the thousands to make their voices heard,” according to its website.
I’m sure Gecan is encountering a certain level of resistance because he’s an urbanite bringing a newfangled idea about community organizing to a population steeped in traditions of self-determination and independence. But heartland residents should remind themselves of the collective power they demonstrated at the polls in the 2016 presidential election. If they’re willing to adopt some big-city ideas, they might exert that influence more often — perhaps with just a visit to the local library.