The Power of Representation
- Doug White
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
In this issue:
• A personal reflection on Pride, representation, and belonging.
• Momentum continues to build across rural Washington with new grants, expanded billboard outreach, additional Can We Talk workshops, and polling in the field.
• Help expand Make Rural Voices Count by adopting a billboard and bringing messages of participation and representation to more communities.
As always, thank you for being part of this work.
Pride, Representation, and Belonging
I believe that as human beings we have a deep need to see ourselves reflected in the larger community. Representation creates belonging, confidence, and a sense of safety. It reminds us that we are part of something larger than ourselves.
Our individualism makes us strong. Our commonality provides the foundation.
One of the moments that brought me the most Pride came in 2020 after returning home to Yakima following many years living abroad. I stood and watched the Pride flag being raised at Yakima City Hall.
Yakima has always been my home. My family is here. My friends are here. It is the community that shaped me and the place I chose to return to. Watching that flag rise was about far more than a symbol. It was a visible acknowledgment that LGBTQ+ people are part of this community. We belong here. We contribute here. We help build this place alongside everyone else.
Representation matters because it sends a message. It tells people they are seen. It tells people they belong.
Today, Yakima no longer raises the Pride flag. The flag itself was never the point. The point was belonging. It was a visible reminder that LGBTQ+ people are part of this community, contribute to this community, and help shape its future. Representation helps people see themselves in the places they call home.
I have told this story many times, but it remains important.
I grew up a closeted gay kid in rural Washington. Much of my youth was spent searching for answers and trying to understand why I felt different. Those answers came in rare glimpses of people I thought might be like me.
Sadly, those glimpses were usually terrible.
In the media, they were often tragic figures or the punchline of a joke. In real life, they were frequently bullied, ridiculed, or ostracized for who they were.
Yet even those painful examples gave me something important.
They told me I was not alone.
I was not the only one.
That is the power of representation.
Representation allows people to see themselves reflected in the world around them. It creates confidence. It creates connection. It gives people the assurance that their experiences matter and that their voices deserve to be heard.
Visibility creates confidence. Confidence creates participation. Participation strengthens communities and representative government.
That lesson extends far beyond the LGBTQ+ community.
Across rural America, people are searching for signs that their values, experiences, and aspirations matter. They are looking for opportunities to connect with others who share their hopes for their families and communities. They are looking for reasons to believe that their participation can make a difference.
When one person steps forward, others find the confidence to do the same. Every person who speaks up, volunteers, serves on a board, runs for office, or shares their story helps create space for others to participate.
I found much of my own strength during the AIDS movement of the 1980s. The rallying cry was "Act Up! Fight Back! Fight AIDS!" and the phrase that has stayed with me every day since is simple:
Silence = Death.
To me, those words have always been about visibility, courage, and the power people discover when they stand together.
At Rural Americans United, we focus on representation because representation is the foundation of representative government.
People deserve to see themselves reflected in leadership, in public conversations, and in the decisions that shape their lives. They deserve opportunities to participate, contribute, and help build stronger communities. They deserve the chance to thrive.
Pride is a celebration of visibility, belonging, and community. It reminds us that every voice matters and that every person has something valuable to contribute.
When people know they belong, they participate.
When people participate, communities grow stronger.
When communities grow stronger, representative government thrives.
That is why representation matters.
Much success,
Doug
Momentum Across Rural Washington
When Rural Americans United was founded, our goal was to build the infrastructure necessary for long term participation, representation, and narrative change across rural Washington.
Strong communities require more than candidates and campaigns. They require visibility, communication, research, leadership development, and organizations willing to invest in the long term. Over the past month, we have seen encouraging signs that this work is taking hold across rural Washington.
New Investments in Rural Infrastructure
The TEW Foundation recently awarded Rural Americans United a $20,000 grant. We also received a $5,000 grant from the Putnam and Groudine Family Fund.
These investments strengthen our ability to expand Make Rural Voices Count and continue building the infrastructure needed to support participation, representation, and narrative change throughout rural Washington.
Every investment in RAU is multiplied through partnerships, volunteers, and collaborative projects that extend far beyond any single organization.
Make Rural Voices Count Continues to Grow
Make Rural Voices Count continues to expand across Central Washington.
Fifteen billboards are now active, carrying messages developed through a community driven process designed to increase participation, strengthen representation, and ensure that rural voices are heard.
We are actively securing additional billboard locations as funding becomes available.
The campaign recently received another boost when Indivisible Central Washington, which includes Methow Indivisible, Yakima Indivisible, and Tri-Cities Indivisible, elected to use RAU's billboard designs for posters, placards, and yard signs.
This decision greatly expands the visibility of the campaign and demonstrates how community organizations can work together to amplify shared messages and values.
At the same time, additional billboard campaigns are appearing throughout rural Washington, creating an even stronger communications presence across communities that are too often overlooked.
Three More Can We Talk Workshops Planned
The Can We Talk communications workshops continue to exceed expectations.
Funded by RAU, created by Sean Hannon and Scott Dolquist, and delivered by Yakima Indivisible, the workshops provide participants with practical tools to communicate more effectively across differences and engage more confidently in civic life.
Based on the success of the initial sessions, three additional workshops are now being planned before the election.
The results continue to reinforce something we have long believed: stronger communication builds stronger communities.
Polling Rural Washington
The Central Washington poll enters the field next week.
This effort, partially funded by Rural Americans United, will help provide candidates, organizations, and community leaders with valuable information about the political climate in Central Washington, with particular attention paid to Legislative District 14.
Polling is expensive and often unavailable to rural communities. By helping fund this work, RAU is ensuring that important decisions are guided by data, local perspectives, and a deeper understanding of the communities we serve.
Join the Messaging Committee
As our work continues to grow, so does the need for people willing to help shape future campaigns.
We are forming a messaging committee to help develop future communications projects, refine campaign messages, and ensure that our work continues to reflect the voices and values of rural Washington.
If you are interested in helping shape the next phase of our communications efforts, we encourage you to reach out.
Building for the Long Term
The most encouraging development is not any single grant, billboard, workshop, or poll.
It is the growing network of people and organizations investing their time, talent, and resources into building something larger than themselves.
Infrastructure is built one relationship, one project, and one community at a time.
That work continues, and the momentum is real.
Adopt a Billboard. Change the Conversation.
Fifteen Make Rural Voices Count billboards are now active across Central Washington, and we are actively securing additional locations.
Each billboard carries a simple message: rural voices matter.
These billboards create visibility in communities where people are searching for signs that their voices matter and their participation can make a difference. They strengthen representation. They remind people that they have a voice and a role in shaping the future of their communities.
Our immediate goal is to place thirty billboards across Central Washington.
Our long term vision is a communications network that reaches every corner of rural Washington and ensures that rural voices are seen, heard, and represented.
We are building a permanent communications infrastructure across rural Washington that increases participation, strengthens representation, and changes the narrative in communities too often overlooked by traditional political organizations.
You can help make that happen.
Adopt a billboard for six months for $3,000.
Adopt a billboard for a full year for $6,000.
Every adopted billboard helps create visibility, strengthen belonging, and remind people that their voices matter.
Together, we are building something that lasts.
Donations to Make Rural Voices Count are made through the Rural Americans United Education Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Visit our website for more information.
The Largest Candidate Forum in Central Washington
On July 7, voters will have an opportunity to hear directly from the people seeking to represent them.
The largest candidate forum in Central Washington will be held at the Fruitvale Grange in Yakima. Seven of the eleven candidates running for office are expected to participate.
The forum is hosted by Washington Youth Alliance, Yakima Indivisible, the League of Women Voters, and the Fruitvale Grange.
Events like these strengthen representative government by creating opportunities for voters to hear directly from candidates, ask questions, and make informed decisions about the future of their communities.
We encourage everyone who can attend to participate.
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