Video After The Jump
AP) — Carey Wooten spent nearly 7 weeks hunting for safe drinking water for herself, her 2 children & 3 dogs, so Gov. Tate Reeves’ announcement that the water is clean again in Mississippi’s capital came as welcome news.
But the crisis in the city of Jackson isn’t over.
“The water that’s coming out of my kitchen sink smells like fresh sewage ... as soon as you turn it on, it hits you right in the face. It’s horrible,” Wooten said. “I’ve tried to give 1 of my dogs the water, but when she smells it she won’t even touch it.”
How did this happen? Residents, politicians, experts & activists say systemic racism is the root cause.
Jackson’s population has declined since 1980, a decade after the city’s schools began integrating. Many white families left for the suburbs, leaving less revenue to maintain the infrastructure. Middle class Black people then moved out to escape urban decay & rising crime. State & federal spending never made up the difference.
When it comes to water scarcity & contamination, they say working-class communities of color are most vulnerable. Jackson’s population is more than 80% Black & the poverty level is 24.5%. Majority-Black Flint, Michigan, has struggled to remove lead from its water since 2014. Other areas where large poor or nonwhite populations lack reliably safe drinking water include major cities like Baltimore & Honolulu as well as smaller municipalities like Las Vegas, New Mexico & Benton Harbor, Michigan.
“I want to be hopeful & optimistic,” Karla McCullough said. “In my lifetime, I may not see the infrastructure fixed & it restored to a point where there are not any water issues. But my hope is that my son & his children won’t have to deal with this.”
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