Gary, Indiana, can’t blame racism for every failure exposed by its catastrophic blackout

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 THEM The 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.