But school administrators were confident that Madison’s traditions could continue even as the demography of its residents shifted. 12 Many of these new Latino students were more familiar with fútbol than football, and the Madison Dragons’ resulting record of losses and forfeits demoralized the young athletes and fueled demographic tension. Since Madison High School’s student body had flipped from majority white to majority Latino 10 over the span of just a decade, a stereotype “Mexicans can’t play football” 11 had emerged among longtime residents.
8 It was an impressive turnout for a rural community of just 2,600 people-even more so considering that the town had not rallied around its football team for a number of years. A crowd of 500 people spilled out of the bleachers and was lined up against a fence that separated fans from the field. On that same Friday night, 175 miles across Nebraska farm country, Madison High School’s football team, the Dragons, took to the field for the season’s opening game in Madison, Nebraska. 7 Many rural towns such as Lexington are retaining old traditions as they learn to embrace new demographic realities. Analysis from the Center for American Progress points to a 130 percent growth among foreign-born adult populations in 2,767 rural places since 1990, offsetting a 12 percent decline in these places’ native-born adult populations. Small-town America-once typecast for its indisputable insularity as much as its immutable institutions-is increasingly becoming home to a growing number of immigrants and refugees. Yet multicultural Lexington is hardly an anomaly among rural communities across the country. “Only in Lexington,” Fagot mused to the people sitting next to him on the football field bleachers. Though the mayor couldn’t see the activities on the field-an accident left Fagot blind in the early 1980s-he knew that the night’s homecoming coronation signaled that his small town had arrived at what he calls a demographic “mountain top.” 5Įdvin Ortiz, son of Guatemalan immigrants, and Vanessa Lo, daughter of Cambodian immigrants, were selected by their classmates-a student body of 880 that speaks 30 languages and hails from 40 countries-to represent them as homecoming king and queen. On a Friday night in August 2018, John Fagot, a lifelong resident of Lexington, Nebraska, who has served as its mayor for the past 18 years, sat in the bleachers of the town’s only high school, taking in the pomp and circumstance of the annual homecoming football game. 4 Yet Lexington and Madison offer encouraging examples of how proactivity and practicality-coupled with time-can help communities embrace the nation’s multicultural destiny and emerge stronger for their collective efforts. Oversimplified headlines suggest that small-town America is conflicted about the extent to which its demographic and economic vitality should depend on newcomers. Communities should approach inclusion work with not only a plan and best practices but also a healthy dose of patience. Inclusion efforts are most effective if they promote regional dialogue. Local governments must continuously make themselves accessible to all residents. Investments in the next generation of leadership will reap returns for the sustainability of inclusive civic life. The most effective inclusion efforts are designed to benefit all community members-not just newcomers or longtime residents specifically. Public-private partnerships can be a lifeline when the rate of demographic change outpaces a community’s ability to keep up. Focusing on common core values helps bridge other language or cultural differences. In welcoming newcomers, small towns have innate advantages-intimacy, efficiency, and familiarity-that their big-city counterparts lack.
They offer a road map for other small, rural communities at the beginning stages of managing demographic change: The two towns today boast revitalized business districts, booming housing markets, successful schools, and sustainable population growth. 3 It explores the effectiveness of intentional strategies taken by key institutions, the successes and decentralized efforts of dedicated civic leaders, and the power of unique characteristics innate to small towns. Informed by conversations with more than 70 stakeholders in local government, education, faith, business, and nonprofit and civic organizations, along with lifelong residents and newcomers, this report tells the story of change and the successful management of that change in both towns.
This report looks beyond the numbers to understand how Lexington and Madison-communities selected for study based on their rurality, 2 rapid demographic change, and resulting resilience-have adapted to newcomers.
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