We’ve endured a century of toxic air.

Kwabena Rasuli has spent 35 years in Gary, long enough to watch the city empty out around him. So when he's asked what comes to mind when he says he's from here, it's endurance: "That I'm still surviving in Gary. Staying in a struggling community when so many have left." 

He still watches plumes rise from the stacks after every storm, and he is advocating for a different path forward: "Don't retrofit our blast furnaces anymore. Just take them out and use the new technology. We've endured more than a century of this toxic air from the BFs. We deserve better."

For him, it's about leaving something better behind: "The future of Gary begins with the youth," he says. "We have to give them a reason to stay."

Photos: Tyrell Anderson / Decay Devils