Flint, Katrina, and the rise of environmental racism

"Black and Brown folks are dying more from environmental-related causes than they are from police brutality," Brandi Collins, the campaign manager who oversees the media, economic, and environmental justice departments at racial activism group Color of Change, said. Screengrab via AFP News Agency/YouTube | The Daily Dot. — “Black and Brown folks are dying more from environmental-related causes than they are from police brutality,” Brandi Collins, the campaign manager who oversees the media, economic, and environmental justice departments at racial activism group Color of Change, said. Screengrab via AFP News Agency/YouTube | The Daily Dot.

Following a two-year struggle with contaminated water in Flint, Michigan, residents, activists, and supporters say it’s not just a health emergency, it’s one of the most high-profile incidents of “environmental racism” to date, due to its impact on marginalized communities of color.

The water supply switched from the Detroit system to the Flint River in April of 2014. Since then, the pressures have mounted on elected officials—like Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder—but according to some residents, no one’s been held accountable.

The crisis has gained national attention with news coverage, donations, benefit concerts, petitions, lawsuits, activism and social media campaigns like #FlintWaterCrisis, #JusticeForFlint and #FlintLivesMatter. Earlier this month, the civil rights organization Advancement Project continued the conversation with #BlackFlintRising, which included a town hall on how primarily low-income, marginalized black and Latino communities have been impacted by high levels of lead in the water—further defining what is environmental racism.