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HISTORY
Give Your Money to Mary Lane
The legendary Chicago blueswoman has never gotten her due.
Give Your Money to Mary Lane
The legendary Chicago blueswoman has never gotten her due.
Featured Stories
POLITICS
Akron’s Vietnam
How the war touched one Northeast Ohio neighborhood.
ARTS & CULTURE
Alternate Ending
"In this version no one has to wear a wig to senior prom/because of chemo. No one’s car is set on fire."
POETRY
Rebel Girl of West Ridge
From the Chicago Neighborhood Guidebook.
POLICE VIOLENCE
The Rebirth of a Regional Library
After a long period of disinvestment and decline, Chicago’s first regional library is returning to prominence.
The Rebirth of a Regional Library
After a long period of disinvestment and decline, Chicago’s first regional library is returning to prominence.
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More Stories
What Happened to Northeast Ohio’s ‘Chemical Shore’?
In the middle of the twentieth century, industrialists tried to rebrand the coast north of Cleveland. Like many marketing ploys, it straddled the fuzzy line between aspiration and actuality.
The Contradictions of a Progressive Police Chief
Newly-appointed CPD Superintendent David Brown left a complicated legacy in Dallas. Will he have his second chance in Chicago?
Reviving Detroit’s Historic Blue Bird Inn
Once “the nerve center” of the jazz scene in Detroit, the venue is now in shambles. But the Detroit Sound Conservancy and neighborhood leaders have plans to change that.
Finding Hope in Wicker Park’s Mexican Community
Coronavirus has devastated Latino communities in Illinois. But in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood, one family is working and hoping for a better tomorrow.
The Last Children of Mill Creek [Excerpt]
"My father was the grandson of Mississippi slaves, and the son of a thrice-married and divorced mother who had cleaned white peoples’ homes and cared for their children in two states by the time they settled in St. Louis in 1929."
The Restoration of Maxo Vanka’s Working-Class, Immigrant Murals
On the walls of a Pittsburgh-area church, twenty-five scenes of God, war, justice, family.
Organizing Labor in a Pandemic
COVID-19 put a spotlight on worker vulnerability, but creates challenges for traditional in-person organizing tactics.
Homeless Chicagoans Could Face “Major Fallout” From COVID-19
People living in shelters or on the street, especially those addicted to opioids, navigate a new set of risks and challenges.
Remembering the Kent State Shootings, Fifty Years Later
Survivor Chic Canfora reflects on life then and now.
The Fight Over Wind Power in Lake Erie
The contested case of the Icebreaker Wind Farm has implications for renewable energy in the region.
How the Pandemic Has Changed Public Transit in Cleveland
Service cuts and risk of transmission affect those "who have no other choice."
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From the Archives
Preserving Black Artists’ Legacies in Pittsburgh
A photo and interview series exploring how black artists living in a rapidly-changing Pittsburgh see themselves and their work.
Belt Magazine News
Call for Submissions: Gary Anthology
Announcing an anthology of stories about Gary, Indiana, to be published by Belt Publishing.
Call for Submissions: Black Midwest Anthology
Announcing an anthology of stories about the Black Midwest to be published by Belt Publishing.
Call for Submissions: Lawrence Anthology
Announcing an anthology of stories from Lawrence, Kansas, to be published by Belt Publishing.
