Small-town America's never-ending struggle to maintain its values hasn't always been good for US democracy
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)
Joseph Patrick Kelly, College of Charleston
(THE CONVERSATION) For better and worse, the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, has come to represent the overlooked cultural divisions between urban and small-town America.
The courthouse was the site of the lynching of a Black teenager in 1927. It also served as a rallying spot for white vigilantes who assembled there during race riots in 1946.
It is now the focus of a modern-day controversy that emerged shortly after popular country singer Jason Aldean released his music video in July 2023 for his hit single “Try That in a Small Town.”
The courthouse was used as a backdrop with an American flag in that video. Though no mention of race occurs in the song, the racial overtones are there, as the lyrics boldly smack of modern-day, big-city crime against old-fashioned, small-city values:
Sucker punch somebody on a sidewalk/ Carjack an old lady at a red light/ Pull a gun on the owner of a liquor store/
Well, try that in a small town/ See how far ya make it down the road/ Around here, we take care of our own/ You cross that line, it won’t take long/ For you to find out.
Within days of its release, Country Music Television stopped airing the music video after...