The Rubber Industry’s Toxic Legacy in Akron
“The jobs that a whole generation of Akronites held are mostly gone, but the health effects of the toxins they worked around every day still linger.”
Blighted by Foxconn
Belt Magazine continues its great reporting on Wisconsin’s deal with the devil: The new Foxconn facility that promised jobs and but is instead bringing nothing but pain. Now the company is using eminent domain to remove families from their homes, designating newly-built properties as “blighted” to achieve their goals.
Girl Strikers
The story of the first major strike in Cleveland’s garment industry, and the women who made it happen.
Rediscovering Russell Atkins
From the book Russell Atkins: On the Life and Work of an American Master: A revered poet is found in an apartment in Cleveland:
“Mr. Atkins is nearing 90. He can’t walk easily anymore and is sometimes attended to by a young, businesslike, very quiet nurse. He is thin and small, with a swirl of fluffy, uncombed gray hair. He has a slightly high-pitched, gentle voice, a voice that strains a bit to be heard. Visitors surprise him and he seems a little perplexed and astonished that several American poets think highly of his work. When he learned that we were planning a book that would reprint a wide selection of his writing and also include several essays about his life and work, he said, ‘Why, who would want to read about me?'”