The closure of the Pillowtex mill in Kannapolis was foreseeable as it was affected by foreign competition and the demands for lower prices that the mill could not afford by large retailers such as Walmart. The media might have only focused on the direct ramification, the massive loss of jobs, of the plant’s closure; however, there were indirect results that affected the community. For example, most of the workers in the mill had families to support, whether it was a spouse, children or even parents. Focusing on children, the financial insecurity of the household they were living in could have potentially affected their academic performance since financial insecurity would consequently lead to food insecurity which then would affect their body and therefore their ability to study. Additionally, if those children were at working age, it might cause them to drop out of school and join the workforce to help their parents. There are many other examples of how the community was indirectly affected by such detrimental events but putting more emphasis on the children is crucial since they are going to shape the future of the community.
