“The Promise” is the story of America in the Age of Trump. It is set in three small cities: Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Youngstown, Ohio; and McAllen, Texas.
The road to Republican Nirvana for me to meet Connie Spagnola – who wakes up every morning and thanks Jesus for making Donald Trump president – begins in downtown Youngstown, along Market Street, through the South Side, the city’s crime hub. Read More
Ingram graduated from South High School, and, that very night, he joined the apprenticeship program with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 66.
He’s been with the union ever since, working for 32 years as a heavy equipment operator, and the last 11 in the office, first as a dispatcher and now as a business representative. Read More
Gulay Yazar no longer wears a hijab. She did so for a year, but then decided to take it off.
She had emigrated with her family to the United States from Turkey when she was a child. The family settled in New York. Gulay and her husband, also a Turkish immigrant, had three children, two boys and a girl. They moved to Youngstown 10 years ago. While she found life to be slow in Youngstown with not much to do, at least there wasn’t much traffic — an upside of Youngstown life on which most can agree. Read More