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Rural Assembly Everywhere Spring 2021 Archive

Did you miss the conference? Below you'll find all of the sessions from Rural Assembly Everywhere, Spring 2021

Day One

Use the arrows or click on a title to see each video. ​

Nikky Finney | Margaret Renkl

Opening Poem - Nikky Finney

National Book Award winner Nikky Finney is the author of On Wings Made of Gauze; Rice; The World Is Round; and Head Off & Split; and Love Child’s Hotbed of Occasional Poetry.

Conversation with Margaret Renkl

Margaret Renkl, author of Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss, and contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, talks with Whitney Kimball Coe.

Susan Rice | Disinformation in Rural America

Susan Rice

Susan Rice, Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, talks about the Biden Administration’s priorities for building equity and opportunity with rural and Native communities.

“Disinformation in Rural America” - Roundtable

A conversation with leading rural organizers, election analysts, and media specialists about disinformation campaigns in rural America.

Videos from Performers, Artists, Rural Partners

My Favorite Place

Shuly Xóchitl Cawood - On Sundays

Rethinking Rural - Nhatt Nichols

Trading Stories with Joy Priest and Robert Gipe

Eliza Blue - Follow Me

Rethinking Rural - Juri Jenkins

Rural Shakespeare Company

America Talks

Cody and Alex - Push on Through

Breakouts

Art Justice in Response to Covid19

Double Edge Theatre presents this discussion the Theatre’s ethos of Art Justice, how it was conceptualized, and it helped the long-term ensemble respond to drastic changes due to Covid-19.

Design to Reclaim Rural America: What design visioning can do for your small town

Join Housing Assistance Council and Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design leader, Evelyn Immonen, in a session that breaks down the built environment around us and how artists, planners, and citizens can team up to reclaim a place. Listeners will first get a basic understanding of what it is that architects and designers do, and a chance to demystify concepts like “design charette.” We’ll also hear a case study from a historically black church in Appalachian Ohio, and further discuss how to vision for public spaces as centers of history, healing, and community.

Empowering Rural Entrepreneurs to Make a Difference

New national organization Rural America Chamber of Commerce will host this session about rural entrepreneurship and how we empower our local businesses to positively impact rural economies, rural communities, and rural livelihoods via public policy and social policy engagement and advocacy.

Belonging with Us

Led by the Center for Inclusion and Belonging, this session focuses on a new national air and ground campaign to advance belonging in American communities called Belonging Begins with Us.

Day Two

Use the arrows or click on a title to see each video.

Senora May | Kiran Singh Sirah

Opening song — Senora May

Singer-songwriter Senora May performs “No Sweeter Thing”

Keynote — Kiran Singh Sirah

Kiran Singh Sirah, President of the International Storytelling Center, shares about the power of storytelling.

EITC with Ellen Nissenbaum, Indian Country and Covid19

A Discussion on EITC with Ellen Nissenbaum

Ellen Nissenbaum, Senior Vice President for Government Affairs for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, provide an in-depth analysis of EITC & CTC benefits in rural America.

Indian Country Response to Covid19

Many Tribal Nations across the country took the Covid-19 response upon themselves. Learn about Tribal successes in protecting, providing and paving a path forward for their people in this challenging time.

Videos from Performers, Artists, Rural Partners

Kelle Jolly

Alamosa Inclusion

Eliza Blue — My Favorite Place

Trading Stories Pt 2 Joy Priest and Robert Gipe

Sandglass Theater in Putney, Vermont

Roots that Survived Fire

Rethinking Rural — Mallorie Weinheimer Chickadee Forestry

Breakouts

Rural Youth Catalyst Project

Borderlands and Belonging

The challenges and opportunities of pandemic response among women farmers and ranchers in rural America

A vibrant women-led and organized panel of farmers, ranchers, food system leaders and researchers engage in a moderated discussion.

Caring for Communities

During harsh winters and throughout a pandemic, those experiencing homelessness or displacement in rural places are often invisible and without resources. Learn ways that you can make an impact in your communities by listening to Indigenous women that are dedicating their life’s work to supporting people from their communities.

Bridge to Somewhere: A United States Is Possible

Can we bridge our divisions? In this interactive 90 minute session learn how you can play an integral part in bridging what divides us. Harry Nathan Gottlieb, founder of Jackbox Games and Unify America, Andrew Hanauer of One America Movement, Kira Hamman of Urban Rural Action, and Anna Claussen of Voices of Rural Resilience talk about how these organizations are all using different tactics to achieve the same goals: reducing contempt, providing opportunities for civil conversation, and showing us that we are more united than we think. Be prepared to laugh, have fun and learn while we come together to build bridges.