How They Are Overcoming Environmental Injustice in Flint, Michigan
Storyboard-Text
- Good morning, mother!
- Flashback to 2014....
- How They Are Overcoming Environmental Injustice in Flint, Michiganby Isabella Ompok
- In the morning, when Samantha's alarm clock rings, she wakes up and gets ready for the day. When she walks into the kitchen, she sees her mother making breakfast. Her mother is washing the fruit using a water bottle. As Samantha ate her fruit, she remembered what happened a few years ago.
- Flashback from present to 2014...
- Due to high costs, the water that was used in sinks and bathtubs in Flint, Michigan, was switched from Lake Huron to the Flint River. The water looked yellow and brown, smelled stinky, and tasted disgusting. After a few weeks of drinking the water, Samantha and her friends often complained about having red and itchy skin. One day Samantha also felt sick so she could not go to school.
- Don't poison our kids
- (Samantha and her friends at school complaining about red and itchy skin.)
- Safe, clean, affordable water
- Environmental Racism is a Problem
- Don't poison our kids
- Her parents told her and her siblings that the water was not safe from their sinks to drink or use. The water was not safe at her house or her school. However, she was confused because there were people in charge of the city that said that the water could be boiled or cleaned with a chemical that reminded her of the smell of the pool, chlorine.
- Safe, clean, affordable water
- Environmental Racism is aProblem
- Her parents explained to her that the dirty water was caused by bad pipes. Pipes bring the water from the Flint River to a place that it gets cleaned, stored, and then travels through the pipes into our homes. The combination of dirty, polluted water from the Flint River and the bad lead pipes caused unsafe drinking water poisoned with lead. The city refused offers to switch the water supply back to Lake Huron because it would be too expensive.
- Her parents told her and her brother, "Always fight for what you believe in and make yourself heard." To fight for clean water, her parents and neighbors took jugs of the brown water to show the people in charge of the city that it was not safe. They carried signs that showed what they were fighting for.
- Fresh Water for Flint
- Water is a Human Right
- Representatives and people in charge of the city still did not listen to them, so they continued to fight. People that lived in Flint wanted to stop using the water from the Flint River. When Samantha got older, her parents told her, "Always fight for what you believe in and make yourself heard," and took her to some protests.
- Fresh Water for Flint
- Water is a Human Right
- Water and Justice
- Why would we trust you, if you were not a good leader before?
- You had a delayed response to something that was clearly hurting us!
- The protests brought attention to many organizations, like the Environmental Protection Agency and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. They tested the water and reported on the high lead levels. After a year of protests and bringing awareness to the issue of dirty water, the city switched back to Detroit water in October 2015.
- You have to replace the pipes!
- Due to unclean water, you are charged with killing innocent people
- In January 2016, President Obama declared a state of emergency in the city. The Michigan National Guard gave out bottled water. Samantha and her family started using bottled water to drink and wash their food.
- You said the water was safe before when it was not, how can we trust you?
- We need the free water bottle program!
- In January 2017, the city's water was tested and the results was the lead levels were below the amount that the government believed was fine. However, the city officials lost the trust of the citizens in Flint, Michigan when they told them that the water was safe when it was not.
- By fighting what they believed in and making their voices heard, Samantha and her family achieved one of their goals to get clean drinking water. The city was ordered to replace the bad pipes. People in charge of the city were also being charged for their responsibility for the unsafe drinking water.
- Back to 2020....
- In 2018, Governor Snyder said that bottled water was not free anymore. He said that the water was considered safe and bottled water was not needed. However, Samantha and her family and many others did not trust him and his leadership and continued to use bottled water for drinking and washing food.
- Since bottled water was not free anymore, Samantha's family would go to the grocery store and sometimes to the church or areas that were giving them out for free because of donations. Samantha's family used a lot of bottled water each week for drinking and washing food and they would have to buy a lot of cases of water.
- Will there be a lot of water bottles at the grocery store today?
- Back from the past to 2020
- Samantha finished her fruit and her parents went to work. Her mom went to the other room to teach her online first grade class. Her dad left for work since he was one of the cooks at the local restaurants.
- Good morning, are you ready for class today?
- Samantha wondered if this week it would be a struggle to get water. Since the beginning of the pandemic and the hot summer weather, it has been difficult for people in her town to get water bottles.
- There's no water coming out from my sink!
- Clean water for all! Water is life!
- Samantha was also worried about her friends and neighbors that have health issues that developed due to the pollution in her town. These health issues could make it harder to recover from COVID-19. Many people she knew also had a hard time getting tested or being able to go to the doctor.
- The End
- Samantha knows that some of her friends and neighbors had their water shut off, so they do not have running water from their sinks. This has made it harder for them to wash their hands, which is important to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
- Samantha knows that in order to have the clean water that she and others need, especially during this pandemic, that she will continue to fight for what she believes in and to make her voice heard. Clean drinking water should be accessible to all.
- The End
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