Democracy is not just about elections. It's about what happens in between.
Where trust in democracy is eroding and access to justice remains deeply unequal, this global perspective on democracy, as something practiced daily, offers timely lessons.
Hosted by Sean Buffington, Vice President, Programs, Henry Luce Foundation, Luce Change: How Communities Are Shaping Their Futures explores how Luce grantees are reimagining and reinvigorating democratic culture by partnering with communities, expanding knowledge, and forging new approaches to justice and civic life. This podcast takes an honest look at how democracy, local and global, can build more inclusive and self-determined futures for its citizens.
On this episode of Luce Change, Sean Buffington sits down with Ash Hanson—theater artist, rural cultural worker, and Creative Executive Officer at the Department of Public Transformation—to explore why bending the arc of history toward justice has to start locally. Ash makes the case that civic culture erodes the way sandstone does: slowly, incrementally, and at enormous cost to the communities least resourced to rebuild.
With only 3–7% of philanthropic dollars reaching the 20% of Americans who live in rural places, Ash argues that geographic inequity is foundational to the democratic crisis, and that artists and cultural organizers are doing the essential work of shifting community narratives and building civic imagination before traditional engagement can even begin.
Articles & Organizations Mentioned:
Department of Public Transformation: dopt.org
Voices for Rural Resilience: voicesforruralresilience.org
The Mellon Foundation: mellon.org
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson: justmercy.eji.org
SiP Culture: sipculture.org
Blue Sky Center: blueskycenter.org
Cheyenne River Youth Project: cryp.org
No Hate in My Holler: nohateinmyholler.com
Epicenter Utah: epicenterutah.org
Art of the Rural: artoftherural.org
Springboard for the Arts: springboardforthearts.org
Daily Yonder: dailyyonder.com
Center for Rural Strategies: ruralstrategies.org
Rural Assembly: ruralassembly.org
Masumoto Family Farm: masumoto.com
Country Queers: countryqueers.com
Civic Lex: civiclex.org
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