The water outages began on Feb. 15 in Jackson, Mississippi, when a winter storm brought bitter cold that crumbled the region’s aging infrastructure.
Weeks later, around 5,000 mostly-Black residents are still having water issues, NPR reported. In Jackson, 82 percent of residents are Black, according to the U.S. Census.
Here are five things Black America needs to know.
Black residents have long called for improvements to Jackson’s infrastructure. Former Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr., who was elected in 1997 as the city’s first Black mayor and served two terms, warned repeatedly of a future breakdown of the aging systems, NBC News reported. His calls went unheeded.
In 2019, 38 percent of Mississippi residents were Black. In 2020, Donald Trump won the state by 58 percent to Joe Biden’s 41 percent.
Race was mentioned on Twitter. “Another Republican state victimizes another majority black city #Flint #Jackson #lead #water,” tweeted one user.
Another noted, “@tatereeves @DOJPH this seems criminal. The Governor is causing this damage and just gets away with racial discrimination? Sick.”
The city of Jackson said it needs $47 million from the state to improve water infrastructure. The city’s pipes are more than 100 years old, CNN reported.
“Even if we were to get the $47 million, that’s not going to solve all the problems we have,” said Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba. “We have a bunch more problems, and you’re going to have to find a steady revenue in order to satisfy them.”
Jackson experienced more than 100 water main breaks and leaks throughout the city, officials said. As of March 7, at least 70 have been repaired, CNN reported.
According to the City of Jackson, water has been restored to most homes while some have low water pressure, WLBT reported.
Health experts say the water is still unsafe to drink. Jackson remains under a citywide boil notice first issued on Feb. 16.
Testing found that Jackson’s water contains high levels of turbidity, or cloudiness, which increase the chance of disease-causing organisms, Clarion-Ledger reported.
Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 73: Jamarlin Martin Jamarlin makes the case for why this is a multi-factor rebellion vs. just protests about George Floyd. He discusses the Democratic Party’s sneaky relationship with the police in cities and states under Dem control, and why Joe Biden is a cop and the Steve Jobs of mass incarceration.
The infamous Flint water crisis in Michigan disproportionately hurt Black residents. It started in 2014 when the city’s drinking water was deemed undrinkable and it remained like this for years. By 2019, the water still had not passed federal drinking standards. In the summer of 2020, Michigan reached a $600-million deal with Flint residents.
