The Fall of the Grand Dragon
D.C. Stephenson, Grand Dragon of the KKK, was once the most powerful man in Indiana. His racism was popular. Then he killed a white woman.
East Chicago’s Legacy of Corruption
Landmarks in Indiana's Steel City still bear the names of corrupt officials.
Buffalo’s Vanished Maritime Past
The city was once a bustling and infamous Great Lakes port. How should it be remembered?
Ohio Has Always Had Confederate Apologists
In June, Ohio legislators refused to ban confederate memorabilia from county fairs. The state has long had a complicated relationship with the confederacy.
Liberation is a Long Haul: Lessons from Juneteenth
"Juneteenth is a joyful ritual of collective memory and cultural cohesion."
My Life in Oil
Detroit, the tar sands, and burying my father in toxic ground.
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 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."
Remembering the Kent State Shootings, Fifty Years Later
Survivor Chic Canfora reflects on life then and now.
2020 Vision: Cincinnati’s West End
More than twenty-five thousand people lost their homes so a highway could be built in my neighborhood.
What COVID-19 and the Chicago Heat Wave of 1995 Have in Common
Large-scale emergencies reveal underlying gaps in access and infrastructure.
Fighting For a Fair Census in 2020
In an absence of federal investment, organizers across the region are working to improve the chances of an accurate count.