Welcome to Buffalo
A photographer reflects on the Black communities that have shaped his life in Buffalo, New York.
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.
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.
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.
Jobless and Struggling in Pennsylvania
Pandemic unemployment benefits are a lifeline for more than four hundred thousand Pennsylvanians. But payments stalled this year.
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.
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.
The Flooding of Beech Fork
In the twentieth century, dams transformed the landscape of Appalachia. What was lost in the process?
A People’s Agenda for Immigration
Chicago organizers share the immigration policies that they believe President Biden should prioritize.
Twilight in Grand Rapids
A photographer’s exploration of the city she calls home, in its quietest hours.
Amid an Eviction Moratorium, the Housing Crisis Continues in Southeast Michigan
In Washtenaw County, Michigan, mutual aid projects are providing housing and tenant rights support for renters as the end of the eviction moratorium looms.
Belt’s Top Stories of 2020
Eleven pieces our readers kept coming back to.