Support independent writing by and for the Rust Belt. Become a member today. »
(Cancel anytime.)
Independent, context-driven regional writing. Support Belt Magazine today. »
(Cancel anytime.)
More Stories
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.
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?
Get the latest stories from around the region sent straight to your inbox.
Get the latest stories from around the region sent straight to your inbox.
Support independent, context-driven regional writing.