Intolerance in a Small Town, Missouri

In 2011, Museum on Main Street created a project called Stories from Main Street, which allowed people across the United States to talk back to the Smithsonian about their small towns and communities. Among other questions, storytellers were asked, "What does living in a small town teach you?" 

"I think living in a small town can teach you how unaccepting and how intolerant people can be. I don't necessarily think that growing up in a small town is a completely positive experience, though there are positive aspects to it. I think often people who live in small towns and who have been born and raised in those small towns want nothing to do with outsiders or new people who have moved into the community. And, I also believe there is a lot of ignorance, which is unfortunate because I think everyone has a lot to learn from each other."

Asset ID: 7504
Themes: Intolerance, prejudice, outsiders, xenophobia, community, suspicion
Date recorded: October 12, 2011
Length of recording: 0:00:52
Related traveling exhibition: Crossroads: Change in Rural America
Original Project: Stories from Main Street
Sponsor or affiliated organization: None