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Welcome to Buffalo
A photographer reflects on the Black communities that have shaped his life in Buffalo, New York.
Welcome to Buffalo
A photographer reflects on the Black communities that have shaped his life in Buffalo, New York.
Featured Stories
HISTORY
Desegregating Chicago’s Far Southwest Side
Neighborhoods experienced the wrath of white supremacy against a busing program to integrate schools like Bogan High School in the 70s.
ENVIRONMENT
Can a Community Water Lab Restore Trust in Flint?
The Mckenzie Patrice-Croom Water Lab, which opened to the public last year, wants to change the relationship between people and water in Flint.
PERSONAL HISTORY
Coming of Age Between Somalia and Columbus
On moving, 9/11, and reckoning with the names and places that made you who you are.
CULTURAL STUDIES
When the Federal Theatre Project Came to Gary
The program's director wrote that "no federal money was better spent" than on a children's theatre program in Gary, Indiana.
When the Federal Theatre Project Came to Gary
The program's director wrote that "no federal money was better spent" than on a children's theatre program in Gary, Indiana.
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More Stories
John Edgar Wideman and Writing to Save Lives
Re-reading Wideman's "Writing to Save a Life" in an era of racist violence.
Why is the City of Flint Allowed to Waste Away?
It’s February in Flint, Michigan and children will / make paper heart valentines."
Jobless and Struggling in Pennsylvania
Pandemic unemployment benefits are a lifeline for more than four hundred thousand Pennsylvanians. But payments stalled this year.
Except for the Cancer I’m Fine
"Is disease something we’re born with and prone to, or the result of a life lived in a place that can make anyone sick?”
Labor Lessons from the Flint Sit-Down Strike
The strike, which helped guide the UAW to prominence in the twentieth century, provides a blueprint for better working conditions and a revival of the middle class.
How Racism Makes the Weather in Cleveland (and Elsewhere)
A 2020 study found that formerly redlined neighborhoods are hotter than other areas in the same city. Here’s why.
An Ordinary Day in Charlottesville
Excerpted from "Pure America: Eugenics and the Making of Modern Virginia."
Why Pittsburgh Needs the Paris Agreement
On the city’s long history of industrial pollution, and how Ted Cruz gets it wrong.
The Unfinished Business of Flint’s Water Crisis
Many of the most important reforms at the root of the city’s water crisis remain undone.
Creating Space for Virgil Cantini in Pittsburgh
Cantini, who was a vital part of Pittsburgh's public art scene in the twentieth century, believed art should be free and available to everyone.
The Flooding of Beech Fork
In the twentieth century, dams transformed the landscape of Appalachia. What was lost in the process?
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From the Archives
Armed, Angry Men
Trump, militias, and the long history of voter intimidation and violence in the Midwest.
Racism, Rebellion, and Police Violence in the Midwest
Stories on the long history of racism and police violence in the Midwest—and what to do about it.
Belt News
The Best of Belt Magazine 2020
Announcing a new anthology of regional writing, available exclusively to Belt members.
Welcoming Belt Magazine’s Newest Team Members
Njaimeh Njie and Raechel Anne Jolie join the editorial staff.
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