Fostering Creativity and Community in Politically Polarized Environments: A Reintegration of Community-Engaged Practices to Develop Community-Framed Definitions of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Abstract

"On May 18, 2021, I awoke to a New York Times article about my small town in the middle of Wisconsin entitled: ""A ''Community For All''? Not So Fast, This Wisconsin County Says."" (Epstein, 2021). Marathon County was attempting to pass a resolution stating that it was a place that celebrated and embraced equity, inclusion, and diversity. Crafted using standard national talking points around this topic, these three words created a firestorm that divided the community. This aesthetic Inter-subjective, auto/ethnographic case study examines the polarizing impact of ""equity, diversity, and inclusion"" in a non-metropolitan county. Emergent data suggests that broad definitions of these words minimize the unique and fractal nature of the issues specific to a locality. Analyzing the data through the theories of rural consciousness (Cramer, 2016) and the anti-critical race theory movement (Rufo, 2021), the study demonstrates the need for nuanced community-framed definitions of equity, diversity, and inclusion. This article explores ways a re-evaluation of arts-based community-engaged practices could utilize concepts of community consciousness to create and dismantle contentious, politicized ideology through artistic interventions.