Season 4 | Episode 9

Prayers of Steel II

Transcript

For centuries, we have been willing to sacrifice places, ecosystems, and entire species for industries like steel. While steel is one of the most useful materials humans have ever created, it’s also one of the most damaging to the climate and to the people who work in and live near these mills. These conditions help explain why the workers in the steel mills of Gary in the first half of the 20th century came from two main groups: newly arrived immigrants and African Americans who had moved up from the southern United States.

This is Threshold Season 4: “Time to 1.5.” In this episode, we explore the intersection of racism, industrialization, and climate change in Gary, Indiana. Also Michael Jackson.

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How to listen

Listen for free on our website, or anywhere you find podcasts.

Guests

 
Featured
Dr. Matt Thompson
Dr. Matt Thompson

Dr. Matt Thompson trained as a field archaeologist and spent several years working in commercial archaeology before moving into museums and heritage sector. He has experience working in a number of regional and national museums in a curatorial and managerial capacity. He was previously Director of Collections and Education at the Ironbridge Gorge Museums Trust and is currently the Head Collections Curator for English Heritage.

Mark Lash
Mark Lash

Mark Lash is the president of the United Steelworkers Union Local 1066, which represents about 1,400 members at U.S. Steel's Gary Works.

Dr. Leslie Harris
Dr. Leslie Harris

Dr. Leslie Harris is an American historian and scholar of African American Studies. She is a professor of History and African American Studies at Northwestern University. She has focused on complicating the ideas we all hold about the history of African Americans in the United States, and finding ways to communicate these new ideas to the general public.

Karen Freeman-Wilson
Karen Freeman-Wilson

The Honorable Karen Freeman-Wilson is President and CEO of the Chicago Urban League. She was mayor of her hometown of Gary, Indiana from 2012 through 2019. She was the city’s first female mayor and the first female African American mayor in Indiana.

 

Read more

 
Featured
Where work disappears and dreams die
Where work disappears and dreams die

Article published in The American Prospect

Home-grown Justice in a Legacy City
Home-grown Justice in a Legacy City

Article published by Threshold guest Karen Freeman-Wilson in Just City

The Racial Violence of Climate Change
The Racial Violence of Climate Change

Article published in Foreign Policy

Unequal Impact: The Deep Links Between Racism and Climate Change
Unequal Impact: The Deep Links Between Racism and Climate Change

Article published in Yale Environment 360

How to Support Black-Owned Businesses in the Solar Industry
How to Support Black-Owned Businesses in the Solar Industry

Article in EcoWatch

 

Time to 1.5

Prayers of Steel II is episode nine in Threshold Season 4, Time to 1.5

Credits

This episode of Threshold was reported by Amy Martin with help from Nick Mott and managing editor Erika Janik. Fact checking by Sara Sneath, Sam Moore, and Nick Mott. Original music by Todd Sickafoose. Episode art by Sally Deng. Cover art by Maggy Contreras at Bahía Design.The rest of the Threshold team is Eva Kalea, Caysi Simpson, Emery Veilleux, Sam Moore, and Deneen Wiske.Thanks to Hana Carey, Dan Carreno, Luca Borghese, Julia Barry, Kara Cromwell, Katie deFusco, Caroline Kurtz, and Gabby Piamonte.

 

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