Gainesboro Exposes the Movement’s Minority Status

Imagine a small town in rural Tennessee — a town square, a yellow brick courthouse, a family-owned restaurant, a café, and beautiful sunrises and sunsets across the Appalachian foothills.

Now, imagine a group of far-right real estate developers — backed by Silicon Valley venture capital and with powerful ties to Washington — move into town. They have a vision to build a new kind of community and turn it into a haven for like-minded white Christians.

That’s what’s happening in Gainesboro, Tennessee. And it’s part of a growing movement by some far-right Christian nationalists to relocate to red states and turn small towns into white enclaves. 

Locals in Gainesboro are alarmed. They call it a “takeover.” And they are pushing back. That’s the story of “Our Town,” a new Bloomberg investigative podcast series. We sit down with its hosts to talk about this takeover in Tennessee.

Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.


See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy