26 Distillation Guidebook Co-Lab • 9.18–9.19 2025 “Fighting to Have A Place” Hazleton, Pennsylvania experienced remarkable growth in the 21st century, driven largely by an influx of immigrants from the Dominican Republic. After decades of population loss and economic decline, the city found itself in the midst of a resurgence. In the 2010s alone, the population rose by 20 percent. Across the country, other post-industrial small cities are undergoing similar demographic shifts. In Springfield, Ohio, a growing Haitian community has helped revive the local economy. In Kalamazoo, Michigan, new waves of residents are contributing to population and economic growth. This story of revival, however, has been met with local resistance and heightened national attention amid aggressive federal immigration detention efforts. In Hazleton, the city that had been aging and emptying was suddenly young again. “All of a sudden you have families coming in. You have children,” says Elaine. “It brings a different aura to the city.” Familes bought and rented homes - the same duplexes built a century prior. Downtown, which had sat hollow for decades, began to fill as well. Small businesses opened and “are mostly run by people that came from other countries,” says Rossanna. “All the supermarkets, all the stores… everything grows because of the amount of people.” As David puts it, “Hispanics are the labor force. They are the economic force.” Along the same I-80 corridor that once anchored the region’s mining economy, a new warehousing industry is flourishing and providing steady work, FEATURE A Conversation with the Hazleton Integration Project Rossanna Gabriel, Executive Director Bob Curry, Co-Founder Elaine Curry, Co-Founder, Program Director David Dominguez, Hazleton Area teacher
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTA0OTQ5OA==