Flint water crisis: Report says 'systemic racism' played role

A govt appointed civil rights commission in Michigan says systemic racism lead to the lead problem in the water.
But there is no specific violations of the state civil rights laws, but says the "historic, structural and systematic racism combined with implicit bias" played a role in the problems.

A government-appointed civil rights commission in Michigan says systemic racism helped to cause the Flint water crisis, according to a report released Friday.
The 129-page report does not claim there were any specific violations of state civil rights laws, but says "historical, structural and systemic racism combined with implicit bias" played a role in the problems, which still linger in the city's drinking water almost three years later

The report also said that if this was a white city or a wealthy city the problem would have been treated differently.

www.cnn.com...
The report says one theme was common in the hearings where the public spoke. People said predominantly white cities like Ann Arbor or Birmingham, near Detroit, would have been treated differently by the state.
The report quotes a resident who said: "If this was in a white area, in a rich area, there would have been something done. I mean, let's get real here. We know the truth."
Flint is 57% black, 37% white, 4% Latino and the rest mixed race, according to the US Census.
A spokeswoman for the governor said he appreciated the public input shared in the report.

a reply to: seasonal

Flint, indeed has had issues with their water supply going back a decade+, BUT Flint has a great deal more problems than just the water supply.

But as to the thread: If the percentage of black is 57% according to the CNN article (I think it is actually about 50% according to what I read a ways back in the census data)...using this logic...

Flint is 54-55% female, far surpassing the Michigan average...maybe if there were more men it wouldn't have been an issue so long...Persons in poverty is double the State average as is unemployment...maybe if they had more money?
Oh, the crime rate mirrors of that of Detroit!

I vehemently dislike race being used as an assumed cause based on a 'statistic' or ratio.



Again. Flint has massive problems, not just the water.

mg

a reply to: missed_gear

As the story states, there is no specific violations, then what exactly is the racism. We are a country of laws, and in order to assign blame or responsibility, there has to be evidence.

The "historic, structural and systematic racism combined with implicit bias" is that enough to make cause to change a thing? How can you point to it-seems like the commission took the easy way out.

Untold cities across America have higher rates of lead poisoning than Flint
www.washingtonpost.com... c98ce7d7489

a reply to: seasonal

That is one heck of an assumption on the part of the report. It seems like it is not just the media that is involved in fake news. Still, the situation is a tragedy, and I don't care what the reasons, it needs to be dealt with, and the REAL reasons behind this travesty need to be uncovered.

a reply to: MisterMcKill

Agreed, there is zero reason for this to get this far. There are tests done on the water, and somewhere down the line someone or a bunch of someone's dropped the ball hard.
The law is already sorting this out, but let's inject racism into the mix. It is always about dividing. Oh and conquering.

Flint Water Crisis: Criminal Charges 'First Wave'
patch.com...

originally posted by: seasonal
The report also said that if this was a white city or a wealthy city the problem would have been treated differently.

The article also states:

"historical, structural and systemic racism combined with implicit bias" played a role in the problems, which still linger in the city's drinking water almost three years later.

All the above is really is conjecture for a law suit.

This issue has been reported on over a year ago.

Follow the money....Governor Snyder (who began slashing costs to water safety standards early on), the Nestle Company, (largest owner of fresh water supply in Michigan and bottling over 12000 gal/hr) and their connections to the Government of Michigan.

AND Obama went to flint; on television and drank the Flint 'filtered' water and declared it safe.....

mg

a reply to: missed_gear

Nestle and Flint? I am having a hard time seeing the connection.

"historic, structural and systematic racism combined with implicit bias"

Better toss this report straight in the trash then. Since someone allowed their gender studies professor to write it.

Commission a new one.

a reply to: MisterMcKill

The real reason is Neglect.

The State's DEQ was not treating the Flint's water with the necessary anti corrosive agent. The metal and lead pipes leached and corroded.

A violation of federal law.

That simple.

Additionally,

There are other toxins that were detected stemming from run-offs in the watershed ending up in the Flint River from trash, spills and debris etc. The State Government did attempt to clean-up the watershed trash, re-route water from Huron etc. But never treated for the lead until it was too late....hence the filtering of water in homes, billions to replace pipes and thousands poisoned.

mg

a reply to: seasonal

While Flint drinks poison, Nestlé is pumping 200 gallons of fresh water out of Michigan every minute

Nestlé Pumps Millions of Gallons for Free While Flint Pays for Poisoned Water

....Deb Muchmore, the head spokesperson for Nestlé Michigan, is married to Governor Snyder’s chief of staff – who oversaw the defunding of Flint’s water sources....
Michigan Chronicle

And this is a good read...

For more than [a] decade now, Michigan governors have been appointing so-called “emergency managers” (EMs) to run school districts and cities for which a “state of financial emergency” has been declared. These un elected administrators rule by fiat - they can override local elected officials, break union contracts, and sell off public assets and privatize public functions at will. It’s not incidental that the vast majority of the people who have lived under emergency management are black. Flint, whose population was 55.6% black as of the2010 census(in a state whose population is 14.2% black overall), was under emergency management from December 2011 to April 2015. [Moreover] it was during that period that the decision was made to stop purchasing water from Detroit and start drawing water directly from the Flint River.
From America At War With Itself---Henry A. Giroux

That is a good start...been all over, some disputed some supported...


mg

If people were doing their job, then race wouldn't be exploited.

Despite crime rates in Michigan, no community including ghettos should have unfiltered disgusting water like that in the United States.

Of course it was, everything is racist. Let's list a few
1) cops
2) guns yes you read that right
4) lead in water
5) schools
6) tv shows
7) the Oscars
8) whitey
9) housing
10) Trump!!
See, everything is racist in America now. No personal responsibility from our lame leaders, or its citizens. Yes wide brush, and some of us are okay.

a reply to: seasonal

The MI civil rights commission has a tendency to throw around those excuses a lot when no racism or bias occurs. To me this is nothing more than an attempt to exploit the problem for political gain.

Prior to Flint making the switch from Detroit city water services (Huron) to the Flint river The Flint water supervisor warned it was a bad idea and cited environmental concerns over water quality. He told the people in charge he would not send out the water from the treatment plant into the city supply and if it occurred it would be over his objections.

8 days later the city ended water from Detroit and began using the Flint river water supply.

Currently Flint is in the process of switching back to Detroit city water as a source.

Flint water supervisor warned state of problems before switch to river

The water supervisor who made the warnings is white.

originally posted by: seasonal
a reply to: missed_gear

As the story states, there is no specific violations, then what exactly is the racism. We are a country of laws, and in order to assign blame or responsibility, there has to be evidence.

The "historic, structural and systematic racism combined with implicit bias" is that enough to make cause to change a thing? How can you point to it-seems like the commission took the easy way out.

Untold cities across America have higher rates of lead poisoning than Flint
www.washingtonpost.com... c98ce7d7489

I live near one of the areas and it is predominantly white. (North East PA). I am glad some people are aware of how this is politically motivated.

Oh man, how terrible. I am white and I feel the guilt. Where should I send my money?

a reply to: missed_gear

It was a catch 22, They couldn't balance the PH level of the Flint River water with the anti-corrosive agents. Sending residents water with out of balance PH would have been way worse.
-source me with a grapevine that leads all the way up to governors office.

The problem starts in Flint's government trying to cut cost by changing their water supply from Detroit to the river for a few years before their new plant was completed.

Flint has been run by Democrats for a very long time

And that's what you get.



Born there moved out many years ago

a reply to: jellyrev

The problem starts in Flint's government trying to cut cost by changing their water supply from Detroit to the river for a few years before their new plant was completed.

originally posted by: mikell
Flint has been run by Democrats for a very long time

Actually, you are both only partly correct.

It was not Flint's government who made the disastrous decision to change water sources, it was an Emergency Manager imposed on Flint by the Republican governor, Rick Snyder.

And it was the Emergency Manager and the governor's office who then ignored (and therefore escalated and perpetuated) the crisis.

Actually Flint is not building a new water treatment plant they already have one.

They were going to put it to use when the Karegnondi Water Authority (KWA) Pipeline to Lake Huron was complete.

They notified Detroit that when they have their pipeline they will no longer be buying their very expensive water.

Detroit notified them that they would shut the water off early if they didn't agree to a 30 year contract.

They said no and Detroit gave them 30 day notice of shutoff.

The water treatment plant was ordered up full and river water was used like the old days until the pipeline is ready.

The Flint river is fine because there is no industry north of Mott Lake where the water is taken from.

a reply to: seasonal

no the main factor was greed the city didn't not want to dip into profits they making off sale of water to the people of flint to dig a deeper well and to repair and replace infastructure. there remedy lets pump drinking water out of contaminated river meanwhile just up the road nestles offered the stat like 300 dollars to pump an additional 600 million gallons out of the ground . must be nice to make all that profit.