n Flint, Michigan, thousands of children and adults have been exposed to toxic levels of lead in their water — and even the bacteria linked to Legionnaires Disease. This is a national crisis. But what’s happening in Flint is not a natural disaster. Flint’s leaders systematically and blatantly betrayed the people of Flint. For over two years, Flint residents complained about the quality of their water, but local and state officials ignored them. The very people who were supposed to protect the children of Flint let them drink poisonous water.
This is a national tragedy — but it’s barely made a dent on the national news. That’s why we need to speak up now to make sure the people of Flint get the justice they deserve. On
March 6, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will have a presidential debate in Flint. This debate is the perfect time to take the concerns of the people of Flint to the National stage
— especially to address the root causes of racial disparity and environmental justice that caused this crisis.
So we’re partnering with Daily Kos, 350, Color of Change, and 15 other progressive organizations to call on the candidates to talk about racial, climate and environmental justice at this debate.
Join us and tell the Democratic National Committee to make the March 6 presidential debate about racial, climate, and environmental justice (clicking this link will take you to a petition hosted by our partners).The situation in Flint shows us what can happen when people do not have a voice in how their government is run, when leaders are not held accountable to the communities they serve.
Between 2011 and 2015, Flint was led by a series of unelected “emergency financial managers” — officials who are appointed by the governor with no input from or accountability to residents. Flint, like many cities in Michigan that have been assigned unelected emergency financial managers, is majority African American. Over half of Michigan’s African-American residents
— compared with only 2% of white residents
— have lived in a city with an emergency financial manager over the last decade.
During Flint Emergency Financial Manager Jerry Ambrose’s term, he was informed about an outbreak of Legionnaire’s Disease, which ultimately caused the deaths of 10 residents. Just two weeks after hearing this news, Ambrose publicly called Flint’s water “safe” to drink.
This is the breaking point. Low-income communities and communities of color have been subjected to these injustices for too long and have never been offered a comprehensive national solution or supported in implementing solutions that they put forward. The water crisis in Flint is just one example of many similar issues affecting communities of poor people and people of color nationwide. We can’t ignore these issues
— they need a public stage.
Tell the Democratic National Committee, its chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, and broadcaster CNN to focus the Flint debate on justice for Flint residents in the short and long term. It’s time for a national conversation about climate and environmental justice, before we have more crises like what’s happening in Flint. For justice for the people of Flint,
Sarah Rasmussen
Democracy Team, Greenpeace USA
P.S. In just a couple of weeks, the eyes of the nation will be on Flint as Clinton and Sanders debate there. This is the moment for something more than just campaign promises.
Tell the DNC to make the debate a meaningful conversation about justice.
