Don't miss out on the Rural Women's Summit, Oct. 27-29

Chavez speaks at the 2018 National Rural
Assembly (DY photo by Shawn Poynter)

Don't miss out on the first-ever Rural Women's Summit in Greenville, South Carolina, on Oct. 27-29. The event aims to bring together a diverse group of rural officials, business and nonprofit leaders, funders and advocates to discuss and encourage policy and public-interest efforts that benefit women in rural America. It's run by the Rural Assembly, a group that seeks to build a "smarter, greener, more inclusive rural America," according to its website.

The Daily Yonder will present highlights from the convention, along with interviews with speakers and panelists. Today they ran an interview with one such speaker, immigrant-rights advocate Marlene Guerrero Plua Chavez. Chavez is the director of community outreach and engagement for Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid, which gives free civil legal services to 68 counties in the state.

Chavez told the Yonder that she's seeing growing animosity towards migrant farmworkers in rural areas. "We know that there’s always been a divide in our rural areas and I know that many groups and many, many people have worked together with rural leaders to unify us. But at this particular time and moment, under this [federal] administration, it has prompted more hate in our communities. And I think this is overall, encompassing our entire society, our entire nation, where we have so much hate in our communities right now. And because of that, particularly in rural areas, I see how that has manifested and how that has made more hostile environments for our communities."