Illustration and story by Nhatt Nichols
Too often, rural places are depicted as hotspots for intolerance toward immigrants, places where outsiders are made to feel unwelcome. Those of us who live in rural places know that’s not always the case; rural places can be incredibly tolerant and welcoming. Unlike people in cities, we don’t have the luxury of being able to surround ourselves with people who look and think the same way we do. In a small town, you have to learn to disagree with people, and to find connections in places you wouldn’t expect it.
I went looking for rural places that buck the national narrative and have found ways to welcome and celebrate the immigrant experience. I found two towns in Minnesota that have very different approaches but a great deal of success.
With daily headlines spreading fear around immigration, it’s a relief to know that it is possible to build strong, welcoming communities by cultivating curiosity over fear.
Willmar, Minnesota
Willmar, located in southern central Minnesota, is a small town originally colonized by people of Swedish and Nordic descent. Over the past few decades, Willmar has seen a large influx of new Americans, mostly from Latin America and Northeastern Africa.
Willmar is an integration success story. In 2001, the National Civic League recognized it as an "All-American City" for its success in integrating growing numbers of immigrants into the community.
One tool that has helped build understanding in Willmar is Vision 2040’s Green Card Voices project. Willmar’s Green Card Voices is a collection of 11 stories from immigrants of various backgrounds. Each person has their photo on a banner, and the banner has a QR code that links to a video of them telling their own story. Subjects include members of immigrant communities from South, Central, and North America, Europe, and Australia. To make it as diverse as possible, subjects are also of different ages and from a variety of sectors in the workforce.
“It is a beautiful bouquet of flowers that decorates many spaces when they are requested,” said Pablo Obregon, a Project 2040 Steering Committee member. “They have been exhibited at county buildings, private organizations, the local community college, schools, and several events we have organized.”
These banners are available for any organization to borrow, and they allow curiosity to build passively and privately, giving individuals a chance to discover the lived experiences of immigrants on their own terms.
“The stories are very compelling, very real, very similar to the stories that our new immigrants are experiencing in our community. There is a connection for everybody to be able to learn, to become more aware about the issues of those who are featured in the display,” Obregon said.
One of the challenges of the Green Card Voices program has been finding places that want to host it, though some of that is changing now with increased national attention on immigration.
“I think those words of welcoming and belonging need to be at the center of each community,” Obregon said. “Rural areas have the opportunity to be able to inspire through the change of demographics and through the stories of those who are being affected by the Administration. Changes are giving us opportunities to love our neighbor in ways that maybe we didn't, and were taken for granted before it is. It has to be intentional work, and it has to be in a very community-organized way.”
Winona, Minnesota
Three hours southeast of Willmar, another organization is taking a more direct approach to integration. Project Fine in Winona brings established and new Americans together to share food, make art, and learn from each other.
“People come from all kinds of backgrounds, and by being together and sharing those stories, they building stronger connections,” said the executive director of Project Fine, Fatima Said.
In our conversation, she stressed that this kind of integration is as much for established citizens as it is for new ones.
“There are so many people that have been for generations in small communities that never left and never experienced anything else,” Said stated, thoughtfully continuing, “People want to know who is around them: we all fear things that we don't know. So if you have the opportunity, you probably will say, ‘I'm gonna see what is this about?’”
Project Fine actively cultivates that curiosity for all types of people in rural Winona, which has a large number of immigrants due to a combination of manufacturing jobs, food service jobs, and two higher education institutions. Last year, Project Fine’s programs served nearly 4,000 people, making to clear that there is a real interest in building community among neighbors.
“We really are trying to make our community more inclusive, more welcoming, that people feel they belong and stay with us to support their families and to support our region,” Said said, her voice brimming with the gentle compassion we all need to bring to our important rural places.
