The Rural Reconciliation Project

Why Reconciliation?

In social and legal terms, a reconciliation is a process of repairing relationships after a period of deep community conflict. A reconciliation requires (1) telling the truth of what has really occurred, (2) accounting for the complex consequences of past and present choices, and (3) ultimately, rebuilding new and more respectful governance and community relations. The output of a successful reconciliation process is not just a friendly forgetting of past errors and omissions but is, instead, an atonement for past wrongs and a radical re-imagining of the new world we want to build together.

Globally, reconciliation is most often synonymous with the remedy-seeking that occurs after violent atrocity, racial or ethnic conflict, or even genocide. In many ways, the difficulties facing rural America—or, put another way, the current conflicts between rural and urban Americans—do not compare. And yet, the so-called rural/urban divide in America does seem to be growing. This divide, at least as it is popularly imagined, situates significant social, economic, political, and racial differences along geographic lines. On both sides of this fissure, the narratives that drive these differences take on a kind of universalized sense of gospel. There is not enough space for nuance and complexity, and in many contexts, we have lost touch with the over-arching reasons for this state of affairs and, most importantly, any real vision of the desired path forward.  

This Rural Reconciliation Project is both radical and disruptive. Rather than simply sanctifying or evangelizing either side of this geographic equation, this Project is about boldly creating space for a more truthful, and critical, assessment of what has transpired and is transpiring in rural America. By starting with a focus on truth-telling and creating an accurate accounting, we can begin to understand the real complexity at play and, ultimately, find new ways forward. If we are clear about what we want and why, we can begin to imagine how to get there.

What do we even mean by rural? Why do we care about these rural places? What mistakes have been made and by whom—rural communities, urban communities, and at what scales? What is owed and how do we make that calculation? And what can the future be?