Rural America is a special place – or more accurately a mosaic of many special places – where connection to the land is the defining characteristic, reinforced by history, culture, and lived experiences.
Equity in a rural context is complicated – in its relationship with urban and suburban America, in terms of who owns and controls the land and its resources, and the very present legacies of broken promises to Native peoples and of slavery and discrimination.
Yet, it still is a place of majestic and intimate landscapes, of resilient and resourceful people and communities, and a vital part of the United States, past, present and future.