Should Play Nicer

“Don’t give me this disillusioned, glossy effect of who we are. This is who we really are.”   Transcript for Should Play Nicer Good neighbors. That’s an oxymoron, isn’t it? I think it is. All the counties in Northwest Indiana, especially Lake and Porter Counties, live in this tribal fiefdom. Is that the right word? […]

Hold the Line

“These were good people who honestly believed that there was a real problem in terms of the difference between the races.” Edited by Rebecca Werner. Transcript for Title of Story Well, at the time of Richard Hatcher’s election as Mayor of Gary, we didn’t know how that election was going to go, but we knew […]

Just Got the Impression

“All they saw was the violence. They did not see the peace. They did not see the change.” Transcript for Just Got the Impression I grew up in the Tolleston area of Gary which was, at the time, very Germanic and some Polish. I went to St. John’s Lutheran Church which was the first church […]

Felt a Lot of Pride

“I was thinking black power was a good thing.” Produced by Rebecca Werner with interviews recorded by StoryCorps, a national nonprofit whose mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives. www.storycorps.org Felt a Lot of Pride I was born in Terre […]

We Were Bussed

“… we were in school together, but we were separated.” Editing by Welcome Project intern Brandi Casada. Transcript for We Were Bussed Originally, the East Side of Gary, which is anything east of Broadway.  See, downtown was flourishing then, so we’re going to say from 8th Avenue down to 5th Avenue was the business district. […]

The Pull of Gary

“I want to come back, but I don’t want to come back.”   Produced by Rebecca Werner with interviews recorded by StoryCorps, a national nonprofit whose mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives. Storytellers in The Pull of Gary […]

Reach Out to Our Neighbor

“I’d do it again because it was the right thing to do.”   Produced and edited for the Welcome Project by Rebecca Werner and Brandi Casada. Transcript for Reach Out to Our Neighbor A couple years ago, when we had a significant snowstorm and it was an isolated snowstorm where we—you know, as Northwest Indiana, […]

In My Blood

“They put a spirit of justice in me.” Editing by Welcome Project intern Brandi Casada. Hold a Conversation Can you imagine leading a conversation about this story? Where? With whom? What kinds of questions would you pose? (See How to use the questions for reflection for one approach.) Please email your questions to us or post them […]

Black Mecca

“That period of time—growing up in Gary, Indiana, I would not want to be anywhere else in the world.” Editing by Welcome Project intern Brandi Casada. Transcript for Black Mecca 1967 is when Mayor Hatcher won. And I was at Bailey then. That was an exciting time for me because on the weekends, we would […]