The Rural Route Review

From Jim Crow to “Right to Work”: Virginia’s Long War Against Organized Labor

Virginia adopted its “right to work” law in 1947, right in the middle of the segregation era.

“Work Hard, Be Smart, Love Everybody”

It started as a family saying, but over the years it became the way Shannon tried to live her life.

Every Child Needs Someone in Their Corner

The Story of Rhoda Blackwell

SWVA Economic Forum

“Richer Places Are Becoming Richer and Poorer Places Are Becoming Poorer”

When the Factories Went Quiet: NAFTA and the Day Rural America Felt Left Behind

That combination, farm plus small factory, built a rural middle class.

Gerrymandering: America’s Oldest Political Hustle

Somehow the political lines always seemed to favor the people already holding power.

How Ted Turner Changed Rural America Without Ever Meaning To

There Must Be Something in the Bristol VA Water

This fall, for the first time anybody can remember, there’s a full slate of Democratic candidates stepping up for local office. City Council. School Board. Every seat accounted for.

A Tale of Two Classes; The #WorkBootsBuiltAmerica Class vs #EpsteinClass

The State That Almost Was: Franklin and the Road Not Taken in Appalachia

Not Virginia. Not North Carolina. Not even Tennessee.Something new. Something homegrown.They called it the State of Franklin.

Black Lung Benefits and the Forgotten Federal Programs That Still Keep America Running

Black Lung Forum with Senator Tim Kaine Highlights Urgent Needs of Southwest VA Coal Miners – The Rural Route Review

Oxbow Center, St. Paul, Virginia — April 8, 2026

When the Cows Left, the Party Did Too

There was a time when if you saw a Vote for a Democratic Candidate sign stuck on a fence post, odds were good there was a milk barn somewhere down that dirt road.

The Rise of News Avoiders

Older Americans still seek out the news, but younger folks mostly just come across it if they see it at all, often through social media instead of a newspaper or broadcast.

When Family Farms Were Middle Class

It’s a story shared across much of the rural South, from Kentucky burley country to the Carolinas’ brightleaf fields.

Most 911 Calls Aren’t for Police... They’re for FIRE / EMS And Rural America Already Knows It

The Mayberry Effect: Nostalgia, Memory, and Rural America

In 2016, some of the most effective political campaign messaging across rural America was not built on economic policy or specific issues. It was built on nostalgia.

The Day Rev. Jesse Jackson Wore the Miners’ Jacket: An Icon of Civil Rights, A Friend of the Working Person

Jesse wore the jacket, talked the talk, but more importantly, he walked the walk.

Bristol, VA could have their first Black City Council member in its 136 year history.

Called to Serve: The Steady Faith and Public Work of Jackie Nophlin

When Anger Found Its Audience in Rural America

By the early 2000s, when the first oval Friends of Coal stickers appeared on pickup trucks and hard hats, it struck a deep nerve.

Two Christmases

Published in The Neighborly News Magazine

Coal Country Thanksgiving

Published Article in Barn Raiser Magazine

Rural America Knows How Greenland Feels. We Just Don’t Have Its Universal Health Care.

Published Barn Raiser Article

Bridging the Gap: Local Political Engagement in Rural America

Click the YouTube link below to see the full interview and playlist!

THE DAY THE ARMY TRUCKS CAME

Urban people like to ask why rural folks vote the way they do.