Rural Urban Divide Trainings

What it is.

RUBI’s presentation explains how the rural-urban divide came to be and suggests what progressive groups, candidates, and parties can do about it.

The objective is to defuse hostility and contempt, find mutual understanding and common ground, and build multi-racial working and middle-class rural solidarity between rural, suburban, and urban dwellers.

Our practical solutions are based on research by our own and other scholars as well as the personal experiences of rural progressive organizers.

Format.

One and two-hour long versions of our presentation are available as dynamic online webinars or in-person workshops.

Who it's for.

Social justice and environmental groups, political parties, foundations, and universities are among those who have hosted the workshop to date.

What participants are saying about our Rural Urban Divide Trainings:

  • “The great value and many strengths of the RUBI training rest on two pillars. First, is a clear-eyed self-appraisal—constructive criticism—of shortcomings in how Democrats think about and communicate with rural voters. And second is a series of concrete, actionable steps for rural Dems to up their game.”

    Skip Halpern, Chair of Page County (VA) Democrats

  • “Long overdue among progressives.”

    Workshop Participant

  • “[RUBI’s] seminars are always enriching and accessible. [They do] a great job of explaining the Rural Urban Divide … and give the best advice for moving forward with a new deeper understanding, straight talk about race and class, and action on the ground.”

    Stair Calhoun, Founder and Coordinator of Network NOVA

  • “The whole thing was excellent and so valuable…many new insights that I want to share with others.”

    Workshop Participant

  • “An indispensable map to provide aid in navigating the urban-rural divide for both beginners and those more familiar with the territory.”

    Kel BasAvraham, Appalachian Peace Education Center Board Member

  • "We gained a number of insights during this training, including the fact that rural people are not foolishly voting against their own interests, but rather looking for respect and for having a say in the government policies that directly impact their lives. We also took away a number of concrete ideas from the session, and as a result, have started doing different community projects to demonstrate our values and increase our visibility such as care packages to local adult homes, volunteering as a group to package food for the needy and trash clean ups at local parks.”

    Ellen Jessee, Chair of the Martinsville/Henry County Democratic Committee

  • "The RUBI training served as the motivational spark to get the county committees that were dormant and starving for direction active again. Because of RUBI the 13 committees in the district have had two follow up meetings to talk more about participating in activities in their communities, messaging, and data research. "

    June Krise, Democratic chair in 9th Congressional District in Georgia

  • "Anthony gave our group of rural progressive activists an in-depth analysis of why rural voters abandoned the Democratic party. With that context, he then helped us center our messaging on our values that resonate in our communities, particularly on the importance of work and economic opportunity. It was very well received and we continue to look at RUBI as our guide for building back our electoral power in rural West Virginia. "

    Diane Browning, founder of Blue Skies Ahead

  • "The training encouraged us to reflect on the common ground that we suburbanites share with more rural folk, in particular the many worries and aspirations for our families. I appreciated the reminder that people in farm communities also have serious concerns about the environment, though they are often expressed in different terms. "

    Rebecca Craven Wills, PA Indivisible

Please contact us at info@ruralurbanbridge.org if you’d like to schedule a workshop for your group, classroom, or party.

Click here or on the red play button to see RUBI’s past trainings.
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Briefings From Experts in the Field