What Is The Rural US? (And Should City Folks and Progressives Care?)

Monday, January 17, 2022 - 1:00pm
CST
Joe Belden

Recent rural/urban cultural, economic, and political polarization in the US is worse than ever. It may be useful for urban and suburban people -- especially elites -- to know more about rural conditions, policy, organizations, and views. Why have rural and urban become so politically polarized, with Democrats the urban and Republicans the rural party? How is rural defined? What is the Farm Bill? It's huge every four years and much more than farm policy. What does USDA do? -- also massive and more than agricultural price supports. Does climate change threaten our ability to feed ourselves? What's the status of rural people of color and minorities Do we need a national food policy and a national rural policy? (Yes, but be careful what you wish for.)

Joe Belden is a writer and consultant on rural issues, poverty, and affordable housing. Recently he has taught courses and lectured at American University’s OLLI program, the Biblioteca Publica and Allende Institute in San Miguel, and other venues. Topics have included “How Trump won the rural vote,” “Can Trump win again?,” “Bridging our divides,” and “The role of nonprofits.” From 1989-2015 he was Deputy Executive Director of the Housing Assistance Council, a Wash., DC, national nonprofit. He also worked at USDA, on Capitol Hill, and for several DC-based think tanks. The principal author of Housing in Rural America: Building Affordable and Inclusive Communities (Sage 1998; 2019) and Dirt Rich, Dirt Poor: America’s Food and Farm Crisis (Routledge 1986), Belden is also the author of a number of other articles and reports.

Upcoming Events

Monday, October 20, 2025 - 1:30pm
CST
Bruce Hobson & Meizhu Lui
Location:
La Biblioteca, Teatro Santa Ana, Insurgentes 25, Centro, San Miguel de Allende

Co-founders of the Mexico Solidarity Project, Bruce Hobson and Meizhu Lui will speak on why North American progressives should understand why Mexico is critical to advancing a vision of socialism and multiracial democracy in the United States.

 

Wednesday, October 22, 2025 - 12:00pm
CST
Organized by The Reentry Resource Program

You are invited to join a discussion with filmmaker Santiago Esteinou and Cesar Fierro about the new documentaryThe Freedom of Fierro.

César Fierro has just become a free man, and he needs to rebuild his life after being wrongly sentenced to death in Texas. César spent 40 years in prison before being released... Read more

Monday, November 3, 2025 - 1:30pm
CST
Joe Belden
Location:
La Biblioteca, Sala Quezal, Insurgentes 25, Centro, San Miguel de Allende
This mostly forgotten war led to Mexico losing over half its territory and the United States expanding to the Pacific. The lecture examines the political and economic background of the conflict, what led to it, and the roles of such factors as Texas annexation in 1845, slavery, racism, the Democratic and Whig parties, and Manifest... Read more