Case Study: Dahlonega, Georgia

The Bridging Divides team conducted interviews in Dahlonega, Georgia with the goal of helping community members tell their own stories of resilience. Toward that goal, BDI has outlined four broad observations of local community response to two events and the surrounding time periods of heightened tension that garnered national attention. In the first event in 2017, a local developer posted signs on a downtown building with KKK symbolism, in an effort to pressure the town council on prior zoning decisions. In a second event in 2019, a local resident with long ties to white nationalist organizations organized a Pro-Trump branded rally, ultimately attracting less than 50 rally attendees, two to three as many counter-protestors, and 600+ law enforcement in response to the event. While certainly not the only points of tension or unity, these events offer a snapshot of community response and an opportunity to highlight the complexities of a specific local context.