Immigrants: Hope for the Rustbelt

Editorial from Cleveland Plain Dealer:

“Earlier this month, an estimated 400,000 people jammed the streets of downtown Cleveland for the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Some, maybe most, were there for the party. Others simply wanted to escape their cocoons on Northeast Ohio’s most beautiful day in months. Still others were there to celebrate their Irish heritage, an annual ritual that often begins in the Catholic churches where their families have worshipped for decades.

Let’s focus on that last group, because it’s time for Cleveland to think about St. Patrick’s Day as symbolic of something far more meaningful than dance groups, bagpipes and green beer. The Irish immigrants who poured into Cleveland during the 19th century were just one of many waves of newcomers whose energy, ambition and sheer numbers made this one of America’s most prosperous cities. Click here for the rest of the piece.

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