In the last ten years the area has become more of a service industry based economy that a manufacturing economy. Northeastern Ohio has never fully recovered from the loss of the steelmills but it continues to be a part of anyone who grew up in that area. Research for this project was difficult in that there is very little written on the African-American experience in the Youngstown steelmills. I hope that the activies might generate some interest in this area. The Museum in Youngstown is the best place to research steel production in the valley.
Students can tour the museum and see mock-ups of actual work areas that existed within the mills.
The second part of the assignment is to pick a topic and research it in the archives on the second floor of the museum. A small presentation can be assigned to each student to report on the topic that they researched. Interview a relative or friend from the area or someone who has worked in a similar job. If the student knows someone in the area they can interview him or her and report back to the class their experiences. Even if they know nothing about steel it would be informative to see what effect the closures had on their life.