Greenfield Southeast

Greenfield Southeast

Slavery, Farm Subsidies, and Continued Rural Disenfranchisement

3/9/2014

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In 1861, this map was commissioned by the US Government. It was the first major effort to map population density in America. The following note is found at bottom left of the original document.
After careful examination of the above very interesting map I am prepared to state that it not only furnishes the evidences of great care in its execution, but can be relied on as corresponding with the official returns of the 8th census.

Joseph C. G. Kennedy, Superintendent
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This visual had a greater purpose at the time, though. With the outbreak of the Civil War, the Bureau of the Census did not have the capacity to produce typical graphs and tabulations found in previous versions. In fact, a more formal report was not produced until 1864. Instead, Kennedy's United States Coast Survey took data from the Census and produced visualizations intended for military strategy. Though it may seem odd to us now, the Coast Survey at the time had become a "hub of mapmaking innovation," and was therefore perfectly suited for the task - paint the Civil War not as a states' rights' issue, but as the defense of a labor system that required black disenfranchisement to persist.
According to the present-day Census Bureau,
The map was created to understand the secession crisis, by providing a visual link between secession and slavery. The mapmakers consciously limited the map to just the Southern states, including the Border States of Maryland, Virginia, and Kentucky, but not the Western slave states of Nebraska, New Mexico, and Utah. During and after the war, the map then could be used by the Union to argue that the destruction of the Confederacy meant the destruction of slavery. There is a strong message in the banner at the top of the map that reads “For the Sick and Wounded Soldiers of the U.S. Army.” 
 
According to artist Francis Bicknell Carpenter, this map was frequently consulted by President Abraham  Lincoln in considering the relationship between emancipation and military strategy. Carpenter took up residence at the White House in February 1864 to paint President Lincoln, after he was inspired by Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. Carpenter wrote that Lincoln would look at the map and send his armies to free blacks in some of the highest density areas in order to destabilize Southern order. 
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Over half of residents in Mississippi and South Carolina were enslaved in 1860.
I've been fascinated by this map for over a year now, and I've finally figured out why. It bears a striking resemblance to the two maps below.
Total Direct Payments (Fed. Ag. Subsidies), 2009, or
"How Much Money Does the Federal Government Directly Pay out to Farmers, by County?"
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Poverty Rates by County: 2012, or
"What Percentage of Residents Live Below the Poverty Line Established for Their Household Type?"
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It would be foolish to call the correlation direct. The overlap isn't perfect and the flow of money obviously complex. But three reasonable assumptions emerge:
  • Pay no attention to the gradual upswing in our economy. In the rural South, the economic and social legacy of slavery persists and will persist barring intervention of some sort.
  • Whether intended or not, current federal monies tend to follow old lines of white privilege and power. (The existence of Medicare and Medicaid notwithstanding - the amount doled out per person is beyond comparison.)
  • New economic models that do not prioritize external government investment over all else are needed. Communities must band together to generate wealth in new ways.
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The home of African-American tenant farmers in Louisiana. (Photo: Marion Post Wolcott, 1940), via The Grio.
I'll admit, being a farmer can still be tough; but is it as tough as surviving on $22,000 a year as a family of 4? Not a chance. Even in a terrible year, farmers have safety nets that the poor can only dream of.  
The cruelest twist is that many of the poor, black families who worked on Southern plantations for generations and who did not or could not move away now lack the type of landholdings that would help them qualify for these sorts of subsidies in the first place and the type of access to significant capital required to create an ag business. What's more, these lands are increasingly farmed by corporations, putting them another length beyond the grasp of locals. Under an evolved heading, the disenfranchisement of poor, black Southerners continues.
As an industry, agriculture built almost every town in every county with the highest level poverty on the map above (outside of Kentucky), but it won't be what brings them back.

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An Abridged Blueprint for Rural Growth

3/2/2014

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Small towns are like snowflakes. From afar, they appear quite similar; but closer inspection reveals seemingly infinite intricacies . Even towns five miles apart can reveal dramatically different values and qualities of life, and the reasons for this have been explored by other, more informed folks for years.

In a country that tipped the urban/rural balance nearly a century ago and is increasingly urban, the future health of our rural places is obviously in danger.  And impoverished small towns and counties typically demonstrate the highest rates of abandonment. Some urbanists might take this to the extreme. "If cities have everything," the thinking goes, "why doesn't everyone move to City X?"
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At this risk of oversimplification, I can quickly identify two reasons why this is an absurd question:
  • Moving costs money. Not everyone has the money to even rent a U-Haul or put down a deposit on a new place.
  • Home matters. Leaving a town could represent an unwelcome rupture in a person or family's history.
So there's a choice to be made here - either we allow our small towns to slowly die over the next half century, or we devise ways to foster genuine rural growth. Some may giggle at this, but technology trends like freelancing and online shopping and environmental trends like local food movements and gradually increasing gas mileage standards could point the way to a new rural paradigm.
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Trends aside, I believe that the Southern small towns that are most successful over the next twenty years will do the following:
  1. Operate with a hopeful, asset-based mindset. Towns are just like people. If you don't respect yourself, others will have difficulty respecting you. If you don't respect and advocate for your town, others won't either.
  2. Orient growth and action around traditional downtowns to emphasize revitalization and promote community openness. No town will be truly successful on the back of sprawl.
  3. Build a coalition of diverse civic leadership (government, faith, business, education) to ensure that local growth is healthy and equitable. Small towns must acknowledge their histories and ensure that major decisions are not made in lopsided ways that perpetuate an oppressive past.
  4. Connect with other nearby towns to build regional brands and pool assets. Unique town identities are obviously desirable, but squabbling over money and influence has played a major role in the present situation.
  5. Attract, coach, and retain high-quality leadership in major public institutions (incl. schools, health facilities, and government). Whether they grew up in your town or not, towns must attract quality talent that is compelled by helping grow a local future.

Other measures like chasing manufacturing could also help, but the returns on investment are uncertain. The above set of criteria could be achieved using existing networks and institutions (and surely is already happening in some places).

My primary concern is that towns may lack the wherewithal to accomplish this rapidly. Local leaders may not sense the urgency of the moment or agree with the approach I've laid out above. Check back in with me in twenty years.


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