Renaissance deferred

摘要

Long the back roads that lead from eastern Arkansas to the Mississippi river, the fields stretch flat and bleak on either side. Behind the wooden shanties that still stand, faded relics of the 1940s, long rows of dry unplanted dirt stretch to the horizon. Of the 9.4m people who live in this region, 1.7m are considered to be in poverty. Helena, Arkansas, was once a wealthy port city with ante-bellum and Victorian houses on the Mississippi bluffs. However, as the town sinks further into poverty and racial strife, those once handsome buildings are crumbling.