The election season gives us opportunities to both reflect on the problems our communities face and imagine a better future. But pundits across the political spectrum have used election cycles to promote a harmful, false narrative: the “rural-urban divide.” The “rural-urban divide” myth uses geography as a stand-in for all kinds of difference, replacing the voices, experiences, and visions of communities throughout the country with bland stereotypes: “red” states vs “blue states, “coastal elites,” and so on. As we approach the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the work of bridging communities across difference, particularly geography, to forge a “more perfect union” has become more urgent than ever.
This messaging guide offers a new narrative tool — the Rural-Urban Unity framework — for strategists and communicators to build solidarity among rural and urban communities this election season and beyond.
We also created a zine, specifically for organizers, featuring key parts of the Rural-Urban Unity framework to use in trainings with new constituents.