Gary, Indiana, sits on the southern shore of Lake Michigan not too far from where I am on the South Side of Chicago.I know that city well and my Project H.O.O.D.
has done many events and good works there.The one thing everybody knows about Gary is that it is the birthplace of Michael Jackson, a place where one of the biggest stars the world has ever known was forged.In the years before Jackson was born, Blacks moved to Gary from the South to work in the steel mills and many made good livings.
But today, Gary sits in the middle of the Rust Belt, and it faces high poverty, widespread vacancy and a long population decline.Its population fell from more than 80,000 in 2010 to an estimated 67,289 in 2025.Gary is one of those places where the streak of bad luck never seems to run out.
I say this with a heavy heart because I know that many people there are good people and they’re trying their best to make some kind of fortune out of their city’s misfortunes.What no one could have predicted is what hit them next — literally.THE MACHINES THAT KEEP AMERICA ALIVE ARE FAILING.
WE FORGOT HOW TO REPLACE THEMThe weather people on TV call it a derecho.Unlike a tornado that spins in a circle, a derecho consists of winds running straight through with great force.
On Aug.11, a derecho swept through Northwest Indiana, bringing widespread straight-line winds of 70 to more than 100 mph.
A 99 mph wind gust was recorded at Gary/Chicago International Airport.Those gusts were comparable to the winds associated with a Category 2 hurricane.For nearly two weeks, thousands of Gary residents remained without power.
The suffering on the ground was terrible.While many of the nearby towns and suburbs felt the derecho, Gary was among the communities hardest hit.I heard from my contacts there that trees that stood for generations had been uprooted and fallen into power lines.
The poles holding these lines snapped.The storm brought down trees and power lines across Gary, causing widesprea...