Haitians of Springfield: An Oral History

When One Culture Eats Another

What if dismissing a viral news story as a “hoax” was the real hoax all along?

When Springfield, Ohio, became a national symbol in America’s immigration debate, the media moved quickly to impose a clean, familiar narrative—claims were debunked, concerns were invented, and heritage citizens raising them were misled, manipulated, or worse. But for many Clark County residents, the official story rang false; it sounded more like a cover-up.

Rust-Belt Springfield had s...