Coming of Age Between Somalia and Columbus
On moving, 9/11, and reckoning with the names and places that made you who you are.
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.
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."
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."
Belt’s Top Stories of 2020
Eleven pieces our readers kept coming back to.
The Keystone State is Ringing
Pennsylvania has always defied easy categorization. That's what makes it so great.
Following the Yellowlined Road
Yellowlining—the lesser cousin of federal-government redlining—was a discriminatory force that historians and economists have only begun to explore.
Armed, Angry Men
Trump, militias, and the long history of voter intimidation and violence in the Midwest.
Cleveland and the Biden-Trump Debate
The city illustrates, starkly, the challenges and opportunities of the country in 2020.
Detroiters are Fighting for the Right to Water
Can an income-based water affordability plan solve the city’s water shutoff problem?