Lessons from Lockport

A long-time liberal activist gets an up-close political education about conservative America when he moves to a small town in upstate New York.

A long-time liberal activist gets an up-close political education about conservative America when he moves to a small town in upstate New York.

During a time of great national division and a growing working-class rebellion that has turned American politics on its head, a long-time liberal activist moves to a small town in the conservative northwest corner of New York State. He becomes a weekly opinion columnist for the city's two-hundred-year-old daily newspaper. His columns force light into the dark corners of local politics and provoke local debate over national issues, from guns to climate change. Dozens of people begin to speak to him about his columns, in stores, on the street, in playgrounds, and beyond. His columns also spark fierce debate in a community Facebook group that includes almost everyone in town. The result is an up-close education about what makes small-town America tick, just as small towns like this one are driving a national political upheaval. Told through stories that will entertain readers as well as make them think, Lessons from Lockport offers a unique look at one of the most misunderstood corners of American culture.

Jim Shultz is the Founder and Executive Director of the Democracy Center, a longtime advocacy advisor to UNICEF, and a contributing writer at The New York Review of Books. He is the author of five previous books, including The Democracy Owners' Manual: A Practical Guide to Changing the World and Dignity and Defiance: Stories from Bolivia's Challenge to Globalization.