Why Our Conversation About Rural America is Incomplete | Ellie Dupler | TEDxColumbiaUniversity

The color divide across America seems to strike a vivid political dichotomy: rural votes red; urban votes blue. However, in this talk, Ellie Dupler debunks the perception of America as a binary country and challenges her audience to think purple. Ellie Dupler is a first-year student at Columbia Law School, where she focuses on human and constitutional rights issues in the U.S. and abroad. Prior to coming to Columbia, Ellie served a one-year term as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where she taught classes on a vast range of social and political issues to students throughout the Republika Srpska. In 2016, Ellie graduated from Yale University, where she was named a Harry S. Truman Scholar for her commitment to public service and awarded the QuestBridge National College Match Scholarship. While at Yale, Ellie worked and conducted global health and human rights research in Uganda, Ghana, Zambia, Nepal, Jordan, and Chile. Ellie was born and raised in the 500-person town of Thompsonville, MI, and it remains her favorite place that she's been. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

[@ChickenVeggi]

A lot of people in the comment section are not appreciating the points she is making. She is saying rural people are not a monolith with rigid ideology, caring about the same issue, thinking the same way. We should stop stereotyping them. In politics we should reach out to them, address the issues (Such as job loss, drug addiction, healthcare) they are facing and not write them off as unpersuadable

[@OutSciEd]

Ellie, I thought you did awesome! So great to see your growth and perspectives since moving from Michigan.

[@perrythorvig6446]

Good technique to show "purple" rather than just red or blue on voting maps. Unless we realize that, our conversation about the rural/urban divide is incomplete. I think she made this point pretty well. I do have one comment about the book Hillbilly Elegy, though. I read it and do not think it was about rural Ohio. It was about the author's family that had its roots in rural Kentucky, and some had to move to Youngstown, Ohio for jobs - which now have disappeared.

[@isaacabid6351]

Really interesting data and insights

[@gregshuttleworth4465]

Having lived most of my life in rural communities and urban communities as well I will stick with rural communities thank you. Some of us just want left alone and be away from people.

[@hanzhenry5818]

I'ma military brat and retired. Whole life.moving around. If an outsider goes to norther. Michigan with a local thatbhrew up and is related to half the people, you will get a much different welcome than as just a new neighbor.

[@revwroth3698]

My county is an 8 on the rural-urban continuum. Damn it all.

[@terrysavoy6479]

Thompsonville may be in the northern part of lower Michigan but "Northern" Michigan is that part of the state that is north of the Mackinac bridge. That can be an important distinction if you are from "Northern" Michigan.

[@nuavecmoi]

1 in 4 rural voters identify as a person of color? It's better than saying only 25% identify as a person of color while 75% are white. I wonder why do few people of color live in rural communities? Thoughts Ellie Dupler? You didn't debunk anything. I want to see a total percentage of rural voters who voted republican and who voted democrat, then break that down by color and lets see what the numbers say.

[@keving1122]

What proportion of Democratic voters in high RUC areas have a post secondary education? I feel like you didn’t really do much to undermine the notion that 1) Rural 2) White and 3) Uneducated voters are monolithic. Obviously you can find political heterogeneity among any one of those groups, but it’s a confluence of all three. Idk this talk wasn’t exactly enlightening and the message kind of fell flat. Smart girl though, considering she’s only like 25