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In the heart of the American South,

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Downloaded from
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a city steeped in history finds itself

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at the epicenter of a modern crisis.

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Jackson, Mississippi, a community where echoes

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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX

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of the civil rights movement still resonate,

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faces a struggle, not just for justice,

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but for the most basic necessity of life, water.

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Here, we explore how decades of neglect and decay

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silently escalated into a full-blown catastrophe.

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In a timeline marked by intermittent warnings

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and temporary fixes, the
collapse seemed sudden to some,

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yet inevitable to others.

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The crisis here in Jackson was so severe

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that, I mean, we were working around the clock.

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We were up every morning on calls,

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starting as early as 7:30 in the morning,

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just to kind of, you know, understand

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what the crisis of the day was,

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what was the need of the day. Managing call centers,

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boots on the ground, distribution operations.

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And on one particular day, I was out.

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My brother had lent me his truck.

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So we had filled it up with water, you know,

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as far as it could go.

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And I was out making a delivery.

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And I was at this church out in West Jackson.

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And when I was unloading the truck, this lady came up

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and she had her son with her and a small arm baby.

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And their son probably was no more

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than maybe seven years old.

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And this was the day that the schools

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actually had come back.

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They said, you know, kids need to be back in school

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'cause they had been out for so long.

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And this little bitty boy, I'll never forget it

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as long as I live, I see him come up,

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his mom gets out the truck,

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she opens up the bag, and he's seven.

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And he's picking up a case of water to put in the truck.

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And he has this, I mean, his clothes are soiled.

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You can see that they haven't been washed.

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And I'm thinking to myself, this can't be home.

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This can't be where we live.

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And it's such an emotional story

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because I'm thinking to myself, you're seven, you know,

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you shouldn't have to deal with this.

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And your mother, who has an arm baby,

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shouldn't have to deal with this.

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She shouldn't have to try to prepare a bottle of water

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for her child, I mean, a bottle

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for her child using bottled water

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because she can't rely on the water

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that's coming out of her faucet.

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That's when it hit home for me.

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And I had no idea what their situations were

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or their circumstances, but I could see it.

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And that child's face is etched in my brain forever.

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And he's why I get up and I do this work every single day.

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It's because of that little boy.

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I don't know his name, but I will never forget his face.

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♪ In a world where lies divide ♪

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♪ Sometimes you have to face the tide ♪

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♪ Where rivers run with tainted streams ♪

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♪ Justice emerge from shattered dreams ♪

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♪ So we raise our voices ♪

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♪ And the men change ♪

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♪ So no more fighting ♪

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♪ And no more pain ♪

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♪ Can you hear the cries in the air ♪

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♪ A battle for justice that we can't bear ♪

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♪ We can't bear ♪

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♪ Poisoned water, a silent fight ♪

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♪ In this unfair world, we seek what's right, oh, whoa ♪

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♪ We stand united, oh ♪

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♪ For justice, we fight, mm ♪

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♪ To heal the waters, oh ♪

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♪ And bring back the light, mm ♪

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♪ Raise your voice ♪

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♪ To heal the waters ♪

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♪ To heal the waters ♪

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I wanna go right too.

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I get that.

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Okay, come on.

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Come on down the car.

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All right, right here.

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I don't care.

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All right.

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This is the story of the Jackson, Mississippi

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water crisis, an American emergency,

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a wake up call to a nation,

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and a testament to the strength

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of community in the face of adversity.

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Join us as we trace the currents of this crisis

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to their source, and seek to understand

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how the flow of water, like the currents of history,

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has shaped the destiny of this capital city.

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Well, I'm Waikinya Clanton.

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I serve as the Mississippi state director

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for the Southern Poverty Law Center.

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And at the Southern Poverty
Law Center, we are committed

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to being a catalyst for racial justice

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in the deep south and beyond.

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And what that really looks like is really

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being on the forefront of the fights

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around eradicating poverty,
ending mass incarceration,

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protecting voting rights, and
dismantling white supremacy.

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And at the next of that,
particularly here in Mississippi,

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sits environmental justice.

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One, we've seen individuals, babies

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breakout in rashes, right?

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Individuals have had stomach infections

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from consuming the water.

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We've had an individual that was a diabetic

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and had a small open wound, and they did not know

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that they shouldn't be bathing in the water.

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And so they actually got in the tub to take a bath

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and the water infected that wound,

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and to the point where the individual

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had to have their lower leg amputated.

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Ask me how did I brush my teeth this morning,

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and I would tell you I brushed my teeth this morning

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with a bottle of water

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because I can't rely on the water

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that's coming out of a faucet for a utility

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in which I pay for every single month, right?

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That's how we got here.

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That's where we're facing here in Jackson.

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And that's just not true for me.

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That's true for more than 100,000 people

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who live in this city every single day.

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That's true for the businesses

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that operate here in the city every single day.

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And so when you talk about the massive injustice

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that we're facing, we're not talking about

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just one singular issue of a
pipe bursting here or there.

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We're talking about more than a century of erosion

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in a system that still funnels
water into households here

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throughout the capital city.

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And that itself should be a crime.

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My name is Danyelle Holmes.

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I'm with the National Poor People's Campaign,

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a national call for moral revival.

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The Poor People's Campaign actually picked up

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the work of Dr. King,

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the work of Dr. Martin Luther King from 1968.

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And we have been relaunched this campaign in 2018,

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February 5th, 2018, here to be exact, in Mississippi.

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Here in Mississippi, we've
been fighting the water fight.

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In October of 2023, we launched more Mondays

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around the water crisis in the city of Jackson,

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mainly because of the conditions of the water,

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the state's intentional divestment into

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Jackson's water sewer infrastructure,

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as well as talks of taking over

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and privatizing the city of Jackson's water system.

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And so there was a need to raise our voices

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and lift our voices, not just on a local level,

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but we needed the country.

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We needed the world to hear, to see,

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and to know what was actually happening

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here in the capital city of Mississippi.

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And mainly to a predominantly black city

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in Mississippi and in this country.

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And it has impacted us severely.

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It has meant that our families have been ill

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and have suffered through sicknesses.

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It has meant boil water notices

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have been commonplace for us.

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And it has meant that during the winter season,

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often times our families and our homes

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have been left without running water.

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We didn't get here overnight.

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The crisis that we're facing here in Jackson

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actually stems back as far as the 1970s

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when the city first started
experiencing white flight.

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And for folks who don't know,
white flight is when a group

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of parents here in Jackson decided

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that their white kids could not go

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to school with black kids.

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And so they forged a migration,

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forcing them to leave the city.

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You had an exodus of more
than 5,000 children leave the city

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along with their parents in that tax base.

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And so it kind of put the city

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in an economic crisis, so to speak.

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For a while, Jackson was
able to kind of maintain itself,

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but as time progressed, systems
changed, students leaving,

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the quality of life shifted here in the city.

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And so we've seen this kind of constant decline

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in terms of the economic stability of the city.

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I'm Nsombi Lambright Haynes,

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and I am the executive director of One Voice.

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We are a civic engagement,

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leadership development organization

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headquartered here in Jackson, Mississippi.

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And one of our objectives is

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to lift the voices of underserved communities.

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And often that plays out in the environmental

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and climate justice space here in Jackson

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and in other communities around the state.

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Well, that's a part of drinking,

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having drinkable water, right?

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Safe, reliable, drinkable water.

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You know, I grew up in Jackson.

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Since I've been here, you know, even as a child in the '90s,

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I have never drank Jackson Water.

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My parents have always said
that you can't drink the water.

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If you don't have a filter on your water faucet,

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then you can't drink the water.

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You know, we always had either bottled water

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or a filter on our water.

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And so I don't know a time in my life

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where I felt safe drinking faucet water.

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Whether I've been in Jackson or somewhere else,

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I've been conditioned to believe

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that I can't drink the water

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because of contaminants
that we know are in the water.

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Not only in Jackson, but throughout Mississippi.

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You know, people will talk about Jackson,

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but when you began to look at the water even around us,

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Bridgeland, Clinton, you know, you began to look at

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the contaminants in those,
you see a lot of contaminants

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in those waters too.

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And so what we began to
do is not only distribute water,

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but our team also began to provide water filters

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and water testing kits so that we can become

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more experts about what we're consuming,

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what we're putting in our body,

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and not simply just relying on someone else

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to tell us what's going on.

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In 2016, when I was pregnant with my twins,

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my doctor immediately said, "Do not drink the water."

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The nurse came to me.

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She hands you your new mommy bag.

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"Do not make formula with the water."

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I was teaching then.

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I was working with children,
and my immediate thought was,

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what about our mamas that don't get this warning?

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What about the mamas that can't afford bottled water?

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What are they gonna do?

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That was my immediate thought.

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My first thought every day is,

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what are we going to do when it comes out

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that we didn't do all we should have done

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and the health effects on our children,

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on those with disabilities,

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autoimmune diseases, all these things.

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The last study that came out said

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every single county in the state of Mississippi,

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in the state of Mississippi except for two

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has the forever chemicals.

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Every single county.

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So I'm Rukia Lumumba.

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I'm the executive director of

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the People's Advocacy Institute, or PAI as we say.

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And we are home to the
Mississippi Rapid Response Coalition,

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which is a coalition of over 30 organizations

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that come together during
times of infrastructure failures

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or natural crises caused by
weather or climate change.

262
00:13:00,870 --> 00:13:03,558
My grand babies, my daughter, it's hard for me

263
00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:06,978
to allow them to come here to the city of Jackson

264
00:13:07,020 --> 00:13:09,858
knowing the conditions of the water, right?

265
00:13:09,900 --> 00:13:11,358
And so I don't want them to get sick.

266
00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:13,728
So it's my goal to protect them.

267
00:13:13,770 --> 00:13:15,768
But then we have a bigger issue

268
00:13:15,810 --> 00:13:17,928
because I wanna protect my friends

269
00:13:17,970 --> 00:13:19,488
that come here to visit, right?

270
00:13:19,530 --> 00:13:23,328
But we also, they're coming and staying in hotels

271
00:13:23,370 --> 00:13:26,320
and eating at businesses that are not alarming

272
00:13:27,180 --> 00:13:30,708
their patrons that the water might not be safe.

273
00:13:30,750 --> 00:13:32,800
So we're gonna provide you bottled water.

274
00:13:33,690 --> 00:13:37,750
I've seen a businessman, he's so adamant about

275
00:13:38,850 --> 00:13:43,608
keeping water, but not the
safety of water that a few weeks,

276
00:13:43,650 --> 00:13:45,798
I think it was probably over a month ago

277
00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:47,508
when there was an E. coli scare,

278
00:13:47,550 --> 00:13:51,498
and I still believe E. coli was in the water, right?

279
00:13:51,540 --> 00:13:52,908
They went behind the scenes,

280
00:13:52,950 --> 00:13:54,978
and in five, four, three, two, one,

281
00:13:55,020 --> 00:13:57,078
it was, oh, it was a mistake.

282
00:13:57,120 --> 00:13:58,218
My name is Brooke Floyd.

283
00:13:58,260 --> 00:14:01,308
I am the director of
People's Assemblies Initiatives

284
00:14:01,350 --> 00:14:03,573
here with People's Advocacy Institute.

285
00:14:04,500 --> 00:14:09,500
And I am not a water person, but I got involved in water

286
00:14:10,110 --> 00:14:13,540
and have become quite passionate
about environmental justice

287
00:14:14,820 --> 00:14:16,488
working with this organization

288
00:14:16,530 --> 00:14:19,698
but also just because I was a
teacher for a number of years.

289
00:14:19,740 --> 00:14:23,388
I've worked in education for
children pre-K through fifth

290
00:14:23,430 --> 00:14:26,388
for the last 23 years.

291
00:14:26,430 --> 00:14:28,450
And so I've seen the impacts

292
00:14:29,670 --> 00:14:32,448
that the environment has on our babies.

293
00:14:32,490 --> 00:14:37,490
And I had to get involved, had to make this city,

294
00:14:38,730 --> 00:14:43,323
this state, this country better for our children,

295
00:14:44,460 --> 00:14:46,068
for our babies here in Jackson.

296
00:14:46,110 --> 00:14:48,348
They deserve the world.

297
00:14:48,390 --> 00:14:51,438
And I am hellbent on giving it to 'em.

298
00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:53,358
Well, when you're talking about an infrastructure

299
00:14:53,400 --> 00:14:55,038
as old as Jackson's water system,

300
00:14:55,080 --> 00:14:58,908
are you talking about a century, 100 years old system

301
00:14:58,950 --> 00:15:03,018
that is now pushing water right into your homes

302
00:15:03,060 --> 00:15:04,810
that isn't safe for you to inhabit.

303
00:15:05,782 --> 00:15:09,048
And so what that does is it forces everything

304
00:15:09,090 --> 00:15:11,898
around it again to change, right?

305
00:15:11,940 --> 00:15:14,898
There is no, when we talked about, I mean,

306
00:15:14,940 --> 00:15:17,328
it didn't matter if you were black, green,

307
00:15:17,370 --> 00:15:18,648
yellow, white, it didn't matter.

308
00:15:18,690 --> 00:15:22,188
Everyone in this city was affected by this crisis.

309
00:15:22,230 --> 00:15:25,158
And I think that's what we have to take away from it.

310
00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:26,735
When you talk about the
face of poverty in Mississippi,

311
00:15:26,777 --> 00:15:30,108
you're talking about a state
that has one in five people

312
00:15:30,150 --> 00:15:32,568
in the state live in persistent prevalent poverty,

313
00:15:32,610 --> 00:15:34,878
and a third of those people are children,

314
00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:36,648
and then we still have the lack of response

315
00:15:36,690 --> 00:15:40,053
that we got from a leadership here in this state,

316
00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:43,578
there's no other way to point to it

317
00:15:43,620 --> 00:15:46,128
than the fact that we have a failing,

318
00:15:46,170 --> 00:15:49,038
we have failing leaders who have failed the people

319
00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:51,618
who have caused issues like, you know,

320
00:15:51,660 --> 00:15:52,968
education issues, right?

321
00:15:53,010 --> 00:15:55,098
When we talk about the fact that our kids

322
00:15:55,140 --> 00:15:56,748
are finding it hard to function,

323
00:15:56,790 --> 00:15:59,208
that's a result of the water
that's coming into their homes.

324
00:15:59,250 --> 00:16:03,828
When you're talking about
kids who have behavior issues,

325
00:16:03,870 --> 00:16:06,498
that's all connected back to water.

326
00:16:06,540 --> 00:16:08,478
It's about what you put in your body

327
00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:10,008
affects what comes out of your body.

328
00:16:10,050 --> 00:16:13,158
And so we have to think
about that in the broader terms.

329
00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:15,318
When you talk about a state like Mississippi

330
00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:17,688
where hospital infrastructure

331
00:16:17,730 --> 00:16:20,388
is on this rapid decline, right,

332
00:16:20,430 --> 00:16:22,818
that's all connected back to the quality of water.

333
00:16:22,860 --> 00:16:25,038
It's connected back to the infrastructure.

334
00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:28,518
So when you talk about environmental racism,

335
00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:30,573
it's not just impacting black and brown people

336
00:16:30,615 --> 00:16:32,988
the way that, you know, some people think that it is,

337
00:16:33,030 --> 00:16:34,218
it's impacting all of us

338
00:16:34,260 --> 00:16:37,098
because we all depend on this system to survive.

339
00:16:37,140 --> 00:16:39,738
So that's, whether it's a business, a home, a school,

340
00:16:39,780 --> 00:16:44,028
or a church, we have to have
safe, clean, drinkable water.

341
00:16:44,070 --> 00:16:49,070
There have been a number
of reported cases of illnesses

342
00:16:49,590 --> 00:16:54,590
that we have not been able to prove per se,

343
00:16:55,650 --> 00:17:00,348
but that we have documented in Mississippi,

344
00:17:00,390 --> 00:17:04,458
in, you know, especially documented here in Jackson

345
00:17:04,500 --> 00:17:09,018
that we believe may be connected to the water.

346
00:17:09,060 --> 00:17:13,983
Incidents of cancer, incidents of skin rashes,

347
00:17:15,120 --> 00:17:19,998
incidents of, you know,
children having hyperactivity.

348
00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:24,348
And all of these incidents we believe are connected

349
00:17:24,390 --> 00:17:27,768
to the water system here in Jackson

350
00:17:27,810 --> 00:17:32,388
and not having adequate or clean and healthy water.

351
00:17:32,430 --> 00:17:34,488
And we believe that this is the case

352
00:17:34,530 --> 00:17:38,928
because we have, you know, read that in other places

353
00:17:38,970 --> 00:17:42,393
that these are symptoms of unhealthy water.

354
00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:46,908
I know as an educator what can happen

355
00:17:46,950 --> 00:17:50,958
to a child's development, their brain,

356
00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:53,013
their overall health and wellbeing,

357
00:17:54,330 --> 00:17:57,348
with any of those chemicals
introduced into their body

358
00:17:57,390 --> 00:18:01,458
or their bloodstream, how their behavior is.

359
00:18:01,500 --> 00:18:02,778
We know what lead can do to

360
00:18:02,820 --> 00:18:05,103
a child's development and their behavior.

361
00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:12,391
This is not only happening,
they're not only getting it,

362
00:18:12,433 --> 00:18:15,873
they're not only ingesting
it, their parents ingested it,

363
00:18:16,980 --> 00:18:20,193
their mama ingested it, and
then had them in their belly.

364
00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:29,658
Not only am I fearful of what these results are

365
00:18:29,700 --> 00:18:31,248
that we probably don't even realize

366
00:18:31,290 --> 00:18:32,868
the ramifications of what this is gonna be

367
00:18:32,910 --> 00:18:34,578
until years down the line,

368
00:18:34,620 --> 00:18:37,338
but I want folks to start investigating it.

369
00:18:37,380 --> 00:18:38,838
I want to find out.

370
00:18:38,880 --> 00:18:41,478
I want to know, is there a reason that

371
00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:42,588
we have so many children

372
00:18:42,630 --> 00:18:44,778
in the state of Mississippi with asthma?

373
00:18:44,820 --> 00:18:47,478
Is there a reason that we
have such a high concentration

374
00:18:47,520 --> 00:18:50,868
of people in the Jackson, Hinds area,

375
00:18:50,910 --> 00:18:53,508
Rankin County, Madison, with asthma?

376
00:18:53,550 --> 00:18:55,548
Is there a reason that so many black children

377
00:18:55,590 --> 00:18:56,958
in the state of Mississippi,

378
00:18:57,000 --> 00:18:59,328
in the Tri-County area with asthma?

379
00:18:59,370 --> 00:19:00,648
There are so many things

380
00:19:00,690 --> 00:19:02,840
that people aren't even paying attention to

381
00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:06,408
that we really need to start being concerned with.

382
00:19:06,450 --> 00:19:09,048
And maybe because I'm looking at as an educator,

383
00:19:09,090 --> 00:19:10,878
as a person that's worked for children for so long,

384
00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:12,918
that I always look at it as is the lens of

385
00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:14,748
how is this harming our babies?

386
00:19:14,790 --> 00:19:16,488
How is this harming our children?

387
00:19:16,530 --> 00:19:19,158
Because I always think
about other people's children,

388
00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:23,268
but it's very concerning to me

389
00:19:23,310 --> 00:19:28,310
that this has not caused an even greater, like, cry.

390
00:19:28,650 --> 00:19:30,078
Like this is a crisis.

391
00:19:30,120 --> 00:19:32,268
We're in a crisis level.

392
00:19:32,310 --> 00:19:36,648
If someone came to you and said that everywhere

393
00:19:36,690 --> 00:19:39,198
that you've lived, every place
that you've gotten your food,

394
00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:42,468
every place that you drank your drinks, your tea,

395
00:19:42,510 --> 00:19:44,613
your lemonade had poison in it,

396
00:19:45,540 --> 00:19:48,558
every single place except for two places you went,

397
00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:50,748
two places, every single place had poison in it.

398
00:19:50,790 --> 00:19:51,843
Would you be calm?

399
00:19:54,180 --> 00:19:56,958
And that study just went on and went about its way

400
00:19:57,000 --> 00:19:58,398
and everybody's just act like we're supposed

401
00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:00,033
to act like it didn't exist.

402
00:20:01,260 --> 00:20:05,178
And I was in shock because it's something I knew.

403
00:20:05,220 --> 00:20:06,288
I knew this.

404
00:20:06,330 --> 00:20:08,958
And you know it because you
hear the elderly black people

405
00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:11,485
talk about and the elderly
people from these communities,

406
00:20:11,527 --> 00:20:13,548
"Don't drink that water.

407
00:20:13,590 --> 00:20:15,138
Don't drink that water, baby.

408
00:20:15,180 --> 00:20:17,298
Get you some water off the stove that's boiled

409
00:20:17,340 --> 00:20:18,558
or get you some bottled water."

410
00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:19,488
They tell you this.

411
00:20:19,530 --> 00:20:22,458
My grandmother did it when I was a little girl.

412
00:20:22,500 --> 00:20:26,418
The people here know what's
going on, but nobody listens.

413
00:20:26,460 --> 00:20:27,888
I'm very observant.

414
00:20:27,930 --> 00:20:30,408
And so the few times I've been in the hospital,

415
00:20:30,450 --> 00:20:32,898
even at my doctor's office, what I noticed is that

416
00:20:32,940 --> 00:20:36,018
they don't turn that water on to wash their hands.

417
00:20:36,060 --> 00:20:39,768
They go to the sanitizer and they're trusting more

418
00:20:39,810 --> 00:20:44,088
in the sanitizer than they are in using warm water

419
00:20:44,130 --> 00:20:46,368
and soap to wash their hands.

420
00:20:46,410 --> 00:20:47,658
So that's one of the things.

421
00:20:47,700 --> 00:20:52,068
And so when you see patterns like that, I know, you know,

422
00:20:52,110 --> 00:20:55,908
and they know that it's unsafe to even wash your hands

423
00:20:55,950 --> 00:20:58,668
with the water because once you wash your hands

424
00:20:58,710 --> 00:21:01,458
with contaminated water and put it back in your face,

425
00:21:01,500 --> 00:21:02,598
you're likely to break out.

426
00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:06,258
If you bubbling around your mouth, you may get sick,

427
00:21:06,300 --> 00:21:09,483
you know, from the bacteria that's now on your hands.

428
00:21:10,980 --> 00:21:13,218
So there are a lot of different dynamics

429
00:21:13,260 --> 00:21:15,888
when we're talking about the safetiness of the water

430
00:21:15,930 --> 00:21:19,998
or how doctors are navigating using the water.

431
00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:22,368
What people don't know is a lot of wealthy folks

432
00:21:22,410 --> 00:21:26,178
have gotten filters, filtration
systems in their homes.

433
00:21:26,220 --> 00:21:28,158
Think about people on dialysis

434
00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:29,298
and what you have to do to make sure

435
00:21:29,340 --> 00:21:30,138
that they have clean water.

436
00:21:30,180 --> 00:21:32,983
Like it just makes life a lot harder, right?

437
00:21:33,025 --> 00:21:34,728
It makes our lives a lot harder.

438
00:21:34,770 --> 00:21:36,108
It's very expensive.

439
00:21:36,150 --> 00:21:37,938
Not having access to clean water

440
00:21:37,980 --> 00:21:40,278
coming out of your faucet is costly.

441
00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:42,438
We spend so much water purchasing,

442
00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:45,291
we spend so much money
purchasing water that, you know,

443
00:21:45,333 --> 00:21:47,508
that impacts your bottom line.

444
00:21:47,550 --> 00:21:51,438
That impacts your cost of living, right?

445
00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:53,238
And so it's expensive to us.

446
00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:54,948
And I'm one of the ones, right?

447
00:21:54,990 --> 00:21:58,098
Like I'm a resident just like everyone else here.

448
00:21:58,140 --> 00:22:01,638
You know, you think about the impact on children.

449
00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:04,758
I have friends who can't give their children baths,

450
00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:06,768
you know, because when they turn on their water,

451
00:22:06,810 --> 00:22:09,348
their water is still coming out brown.

452
00:22:09,390 --> 00:22:11,598
Now we are in a place where
we'll be getting to see fixes

453
00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:13,518
in our water, right, in our water system,

454
00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:14,808
but we're not there yet.

455
00:22:14,850 --> 00:22:17,358
And we know that this is
gonna be another 10 year process

456
00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:18,828
to really get us to a place

457
00:22:18,870 --> 00:22:21,198
where our pipes leading to our homes

458
00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:23,658
are safe enough for water to get to us.

459
00:22:23,700 --> 00:22:26,778
And so, yeah, water coming out of the utility plant,

460
00:22:26,820 --> 00:22:30,108
out of the plant might be
good, but as it gets to our homes,

461
00:22:30,150 --> 00:22:31,908
we don't know if those pipes are clean enough

462
00:22:31,950 --> 00:22:33,528
that they're proper enough in water

463
00:22:33,570 --> 00:22:35,628
to bring us clean water into our homes.

464
00:22:35,670 --> 00:22:38,178
And so children are not
being able to take baths, right?

465
00:22:38,220 --> 00:22:39,505
Something that some does.

466
00:22:39,547 --> 00:22:42,138
You know, being careful about brushing your teeth

467
00:22:42,180 --> 00:22:44,118
and having to use bottled water to brush your teeth.

468
00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:45,828
You know, you think about elders.

469
00:22:45,870 --> 00:22:48,738
I've heard stories of people having, you know,

470
00:22:48,780 --> 00:22:50,238
believing that the blisters

471
00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:52,008
that they're seeing on their skin

472
00:22:52,050 --> 00:22:53,898
or on their children's skin are a result

473
00:22:53,940 --> 00:22:56,388
of water contamination.

474
00:22:56,430 --> 00:22:58,008
Yeah, I've heard many different stories.

475
00:22:58,050 --> 00:23:01,218
You are seeing folks like myself

476
00:23:01,260 --> 00:23:03,993
who are out here crying about the water, right?

477
00:23:04,966 --> 00:23:08,478
And we wanna know, not just by word of mouth,

478
00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:12,708
but we're asking to produce data to show us,

479
00:23:12,750 --> 00:23:15,618
to show the residents that Jackson's water

480
00:23:15,660 --> 00:23:16,683
is safe to consume.

481
00:23:18,570 --> 00:23:22,518
That data is not being
produced by third party interim,

482
00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:25,338
Ted Henifin that runs Jackson water.

483
00:23:25,380 --> 00:23:28,908
So this is one of the main reasons why the community,

484
00:23:28,950 --> 00:23:32,658
we have real issues because we care about our lives.

485
00:23:32,700 --> 00:23:34,338
And our lives are at stake here.

486
00:23:34,380 --> 00:23:36,708
On August 29th, 2022,

487
00:23:36,750 --> 00:23:38,748
the capital city's residents had to confront

488
00:23:38,790 --> 00:23:41,148
an unimaginable reality.

489
00:23:41,190 --> 00:23:44,088
A citywide failure has left taps dry.

490
00:23:44,130 --> 00:23:45,348
And those that do function

491
00:23:45,390 --> 00:23:48,678
spew forth water tainted and undrinkable.

492
00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:49,878
This wasn't the first time

493
00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:52,488
that the city's water system had failed.

494
00:23:52,530 --> 00:23:56,088
And residents often complain of tainted

495
00:23:56,130 --> 00:23:57,693
and contaminated water.

496
00:23:58,650 --> 00:24:00,198
Chokwe Antar Lumumba.

497
00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:03,198
Just wanted to take a moment
to thank all of the volunteers

498
00:24:03,240 --> 00:24:05,418
that are here on the ground today

499
00:24:05,460 --> 00:24:09,798
that have been loading vehicles, unloading trucks,

500
00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:12,318
just giving water to our residents.

501
00:24:12,360 --> 00:24:16,068
The response has been
overwhelming from other cities,

502
00:24:16,110 --> 00:24:19,698
from other residents,
from nonprofit organizations

503
00:24:19,740 --> 00:24:24,108
that have all dedicated
their time or their resources.

504
00:24:24,150 --> 00:24:27,663
That day was a state of emergency.

505
00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:31,488
We had been dealing with this on and off again,

506
00:24:31,530 --> 00:24:33,738
kind of like boil water notices.

507
00:24:33,780 --> 00:24:36,468
Until one day we were experiencing

508
00:24:36,510 --> 00:24:38,748
extreme weather here in the city.

509
00:24:38,790 --> 00:24:42,258
We had a massive freeze, which caused a lot of pipes

510
00:24:42,300 --> 00:24:44,118
to burst and cracks of form.

511
00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:46,428
We had the flooding of the reservoir

512
00:24:46,470 --> 00:24:49,998
that it floated over into OB Curtis,

513
00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:53,448
which caused then all of this
water to become contaminated.

514
00:24:53,490 --> 00:24:55,368
And it was just an overwhelming sense

515
00:24:55,410 --> 00:24:57,018
of nature on the system itself.

516
00:24:57,060 --> 00:24:59,448
And so we had this massive collapse.

517
00:24:59,490 --> 00:25:01,908
People don't know what to do.

518
00:25:01,950 --> 00:25:05,088
If it had not been for, and all of this is happening

519
00:25:05,130 --> 00:25:07,698
while we're awaiting government response.

520
00:25:07,740 --> 00:25:10,578
So nothing from the federal, nothing from the state.

521
00:25:10,620 --> 00:25:13,368
It was just the people who took to the front lines

522
00:25:13,410 --> 00:25:16,068
and made sure that people
had clean water in their homes.

523
00:25:16,110 --> 00:25:17,868
And so if it had not been

524
00:25:17,910 --> 00:25:20,388
for the Mississippi Rapid Response Coalition,

525
00:25:20,430 --> 00:25:22,008
many families would've still, I mean,

526
00:25:22,050 --> 00:25:22,841
you're talking about families

527
00:25:22,883 --> 00:25:24,168
who are dealing with sick children.

528
00:25:24,210 --> 00:25:26,838
You're talking about elderly folks

529
00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:28,518
who didn't have water to take their medicines with.

530
00:25:28,560 --> 00:25:33,228
So we're talking about just a state

531
00:25:33,270 --> 00:25:35,958
not only of crisis, but extreme devastation.

532
00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:37,818
And people didn't even know where to turn, where to go.

533
00:25:37,860 --> 00:25:41,808
And so if it had not been for coalitions

534
00:25:41,850 --> 00:25:43,895
of organizations who are
just committed to the wellbeing

535
00:25:43,937 --> 00:25:46,038
of the people here in Mississippi,

536
00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:48,019
I don't know where we would've been.

537
00:25:54,858 --> 00:25:55,649
Hold on, hold on.

538
00:25:55,691 --> 00:25:56,668
Slow down.

539
00:25:56,710 --> 00:25:59,033
So now you're working with us?

540
00:26:06,990 --> 00:26:10,218
I really couldn't at that particular moment

541
00:26:10,260 --> 00:26:12,648
put my emotions into it, right?

542
00:26:12,690 --> 00:26:14,988
I had to deal with what was before us.

543
00:26:15,030 --> 00:26:18,108
And that was we had a community of people

544
00:26:18,150 --> 00:26:19,878
that didn't have water.

545
00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:22,338
And it takes water to survive.

546
00:26:22,380 --> 00:26:27,318
You know, one of the most sacred basic needs is water.

547
00:26:27,360 --> 00:26:28,848
Water is life.

548
00:26:28,890 --> 00:26:32,628
Yet we find ourselves in a situation

549
00:26:32,670 --> 00:26:33,828
here in the city of Jackson

550
00:26:33,870 --> 00:26:37,698
where we have unstable water in Jackson,

551
00:26:37,740 --> 00:26:39,828
but yet we have deadly water

552
00:26:39,870 --> 00:26:42,048
across the state of Mississippi.

553
00:26:42,090 --> 00:26:44,478
And so we can talk about Jackson all day

554
00:26:44,520 --> 00:26:46,608
and its water being unstable.

555
00:26:46,650 --> 00:26:49,068
But what I will say is that while Jackson's water

556
00:26:49,110 --> 00:26:52,128
is unstable because of decades

557
00:26:52,170 --> 00:26:54,858
of crumbling water infrastructure,

558
00:26:54,900 --> 00:26:59,238
Jackson's water isn't as deadly
as some of the other water

559
00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:01,930
that has been tested across
the state of Mississippi.

560
00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:08,808
I'm blessed in the fact that I have options.

561
00:27:08,850 --> 00:27:11,745
So many people here in Jackson

562
00:27:11,787 --> 00:27:14,478
and Mississippi don't have options.

563
00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:17,208
You know, when it got too difficult for me,

564
00:27:17,250 --> 00:27:20,478
I could go to my parents' house and, you know,

565
00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:24,228
bathe and get myself up and
get ready and be ready to go.

566
00:27:24,270 --> 00:27:26,175
So many people couldn't do that.

567
00:27:26,217 --> 00:27:30,048
And so when it became safe enough for me to come back,

568
00:27:30,090 --> 00:27:33,168
I came back to make sure that I wasn't, you know,

569
00:27:33,210 --> 00:27:35,118
running or retreating from the issues

570
00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:38,778
that were really at hand,
that these real life experiences,

571
00:27:38,820 --> 00:27:42,528
like far being from me to remove myself

572
00:27:42,570 --> 00:27:45,198
from a situation and come in as a savior.

573
00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:48,435
Well, no, I needed to understand, I needed to be here

574
00:27:48,477 --> 00:27:50,658
and that was the motivation, right?

575
00:27:50,700 --> 00:27:52,788
'Cause I gotta do the same thing you gotta do.

576
00:27:52,830 --> 00:27:54,798
I gotta get up and brush my teeth with water.

577
00:27:54,840 --> 00:27:57,078
I can't wash my clothes here in Hinds County.

578
00:27:57,120 --> 00:27:59,118
I gotta take 'em to Madison County, right?

579
00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:02,238
I gotta do something other than be able to get up,

580
00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:04,458
trust the system that I pay for every single day

581
00:28:04,500 --> 00:28:06,108
and be able to rely on those systems.

582
00:28:06,150 --> 00:28:07,668
You pay for security.

583
00:28:07,710 --> 00:28:11,535
At that moment, we lost security here in our homes.

584
00:28:11,577 --> 00:28:13,548
And that to me was the real crisis.

585
00:28:13,590 --> 00:28:14,958
That was the real danger.

586
00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:17,238
Because people who didn't have, I think about people

587
00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:20,058
who are transportation insecure, right?

588
00:28:20,100 --> 00:28:21,258
They don't have cars.

589
00:28:21,300 --> 00:28:23,748
We don't have a public transit system here in Jackson.

590
00:28:23,790 --> 00:28:25,253
And we have the JTRAN,

591
00:28:26,143 --> 00:28:27,618
and that doesn't run everywhere, you know,

592
00:28:27,660 --> 00:28:29,538
and that's a bus system, right?

593
00:28:29,580 --> 00:28:31,248
So you're talking about people who had

594
00:28:31,290 --> 00:28:35,193
to really uproot their entire lives just to survive.

595
00:28:36,417 --> 00:28:41,307
In 2022, in 2023, we were surviving,

596
00:28:42,483 --> 00:28:44,448
not in the position of thriving

597
00:28:44,490 --> 00:28:47,448
or being able to exist in just normalcy.

598
00:28:47,490 --> 00:28:49,758
We had to redefine normal for us

599
00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:51,348
for an extended period of time.

600
00:28:51,390 --> 00:28:52,998
And that should never have been the case.

601
00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:56,148
You know, just being able to just take a bath,

602
00:28:56,190 --> 00:28:59,058
being able to not have to worry about

603
00:28:59,100 --> 00:29:02,118
if you put your child in the water and it's brown.

604
00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:03,138
You know what I'm saying?

605
00:29:03,180 --> 00:29:04,578
Can I actually put my child in there?

606
00:29:04,620 --> 00:29:06,018
Let's not put my child in the water.

607
00:29:06,060 --> 00:29:07,878
Can I give my child a bath today?

608
00:29:07,920 --> 00:29:10,458
You know, just being able to have access to that,

609
00:29:10,500 --> 00:29:14,268
having to boil your water
before you cook your meals, right?

610
00:29:14,310 --> 00:29:16,248
That was hard for many, many people.

611
00:29:16,290 --> 00:29:17,808
And it takes a lot longer.

612
00:29:17,850 --> 00:29:21,303
You know, one senior home that I remember we went to,

613
00:29:22,156 --> 00:29:23,478
it was in North Jackson.

614
00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:25,278
And not only didn't they have water,

615
00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:27,558
but they also didn't have electricity.

616
00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:32,508
This was another time during
one of our major water outages.

617
00:29:32,550 --> 00:29:34,398
And that was due to, we had a,

618
00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:37,458
I think it was a major power outage.

619
00:29:37,500 --> 00:29:39,978
And so residents not only in that building,

620
00:29:40,020 --> 00:29:42,648
didn't have electricity so they couldn't see,

621
00:29:42,690 --> 00:29:44,088
the elevators weren't working.

622
00:29:44,130 --> 00:29:46,848
They were all, it was a senior elder living facility.

623
00:29:46,890 --> 00:29:49,278
Couldn't get up and down the stairs, many of the elders,

624
00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:51,288
'cause they were relying on the elevators,

625
00:29:51,330 --> 00:29:53,568
didn't have water, right, to drink,

626
00:29:53,610 --> 00:29:55,818
and we were going in the dark.

627
00:29:55,860 --> 00:29:58,068
They had been in the dark for weeks

628
00:29:58,110 --> 00:29:59,898
and without water, not weeks, for days,

629
00:29:59,940 --> 00:30:03,138
and had been in without water for a few days.

630
00:30:03,180 --> 00:30:04,998
And so we were able, we found out about them,

631
00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:06,528
got them what they needed.

632
00:30:06,570 --> 00:30:09,348
And it was just, you know, the tears

633
00:30:09,390 --> 00:30:11,178
that come down people's eyes, just for people

634
00:30:11,220 --> 00:30:12,978
to think about them, to be able to reach them,

635
00:30:13,020 --> 00:30:16,128
to be able to get something so simple and basic,

636
00:30:16,170 --> 00:30:17,628
so simple and basic.

637
00:30:17,670 --> 00:30:20,298
You never think about it until you don't have it.

638
00:30:20,340 --> 00:30:22,278
Again, it really made me feel like

639
00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:26,178
I was in another country or another nation.

640
00:30:26,220 --> 00:30:28,188
It didn't make me feel like I was

641
00:30:28,230 --> 00:30:30,198
in the United States of America

642
00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:33,465
to be in a place where we were running out of water

643
00:30:33,507 --> 00:30:37,398
and that we were in a place where

644
00:30:37,440 --> 00:30:40,098
we didn't have access to clean water

645
00:30:40,140 --> 00:30:43,398
and that we didn't know when the water

646
00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:45,783
was going to come back on.

647
00:30:47,625 --> 00:30:51,890
And so that was the scariest
part about the situation.

648
00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:55,518
I'm talking about alternating

649
00:30:55,560 --> 00:30:57,827
the battery power so you can stop.

650
00:31:03,480 --> 00:31:04,271
All right.

651
00:31:11,450 --> 00:31:13,428
So when you talk about the impacts

652
00:31:13,470 --> 00:31:16,008
of this crisis on daily life,

653
00:31:16,050 --> 00:31:17,778
we talk a lot about the drinking water.

654
00:31:17,820 --> 00:31:19,398
Most people don't think about the potable water.

655
00:31:19,440 --> 00:31:22,278
Like when that system failed,

656
00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:24,768
the entire system lost water pressure, right?

657
00:31:24,810 --> 00:31:26,568
Which means that the water that used

658
00:31:26,610 --> 00:31:28,458
to flush your toilets with or wash your clothes with,

659
00:31:28,500 --> 00:31:30,828
none of that was moving, right?

660
00:31:30,870 --> 00:31:33,588
Because the system was so old, it was decrepit.

661
00:31:33,630 --> 00:31:36,213
And so folks had to literally,

662
00:31:37,080 --> 00:31:39,108
one of the schools we were visiting

663
00:31:39,150 --> 00:31:40,139
that we had adopted actually

664
00:31:40,181 --> 00:31:43,878
at the Southern Poverty Law
Center, Wilkins Elementary,

665
00:31:43,920 --> 00:31:48,018
was describing to us how during the crisis

666
00:31:48,060 --> 00:31:50,298
that they had to take buckets,

667
00:31:50,340 --> 00:31:51,948
fill them up with water

668
00:31:51,990 --> 00:31:54,558
to flush the toilets for their students.

669
00:31:54,600 --> 00:31:57,348
Like that's what teachers were having to do.

670
00:31:57,390 --> 00:32:02,390
And it's so unreal

671
00:32:02,580 --> 00:32:05,358
because it's not something that you can even fathom.

672
00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:07,638
Like that's like, you know, you think back

673
00:32:07,680 --> 00:32:10,248
to outhouses in the olden days,

674
00:32:10,290 --> 00:32:11,585
but this was something
that was happening right here

675
00:32:11,627 --> 00:32:14,388
in the 21st century in, you know,

676
00:32:14,430 --> 00:32:16,758
the greatest place on earth, right, America.

677
00:32:16,800 --> 00:32:18,858
This is what we were experiencing.

678
00:32:18,900 --> 00:32:23,900
And it just really, it was so heart wrenching, right?

679
00:32:24,810 --> 00:32:27,138
To think about that if this is

680
00:32:27,180 --> 00:32:29,988
what children are experiencing at school, right,

681
00:32:30,030 --> 00:32:31,818
the place that they come to school,

682
00:32:31,860 --> 00:32:33,678
because many of them don't get

683
00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:35,718
three meals a day, right, at home.

684
00:32:35,760 --> 00:32:37,788
Like school is the only time that they eat

685
00:32:37,830 --> 00:32:39,738
for a lot of these families.

686
00:32:39,780 --> 00:32:41,538
And to think about the impact

687
00:32:41,580 --> 00:32:43,998
that this water crisis had on those children

688
00:32:44,040 --> 00:32:47,808
who would go home and not have food, right?

689
00:32:47,850 --> 00:32:49,368
Just on a regular day, but particularly

690
00:32:49,410 --> 00:32:50,748
in the middle of a crisis, you can't even make

691
00:32:50,790 --> 00:32:52,128
a pack of noodles, right?

692
00:32:52,170 --> 00:32:54,348
If you don't have clean water, right?

693
00:32:54,390 --> 00:32:57,048
And so, you know, we're talking about

694
00:32:57,090 --> 00:33:00,468
just a series of things that

695
00:33:00,510 --> 00:33:02,628
you don't even imagine are possible,

696
00:33:02,670 --> 00:33:06,438
but became possible for us in an instance here

697
00:33:06,480 --> 00:33:09,408
in the capital city and we received those reports.

698
00:33:09,450 --> 00:33:11,688
That's why we provided meals for, you know,

699
00:33:11,730 --> 00:33:13,518
communities every day.

700
00:33:13,560 --> 00:33:16,428
You know, somebody was sponsoring 1,000 meals a day

701
00:33:16,470 --> 00:33:18,918
in this community or 1,000
meals a day in this community

702
00:33:18,960 --> 00:33:20,718
because it was that important.

703
00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:22,992
And you know, it was great that we had

704
00:33:23,034 --> 00:33:25,788
the Red Cross come in and provide meals

705
00:33:25,830 --> 00:33:27,978
and support the ecosystem as well.

706
00:33:28,020 --> 00:33:30,498
But we're talking about hot meals, like, you know,

707
00:33:30,540 --> 00:33:33,588
people need hot meals, like sandwiches are cool,

708
00:33:33,630 --> 00:33:35,168
but that ain't going to hold you.

709
00:33:35,210 --> 00:33:37,355
You know, you need something that stuck to your bones.

710
00:33:37,397 --> 00:33:41,058
And so we had a lot of support
from the business community,

711
00:33:41,100 --> 00:33:43,801
people who just stepped in, and that's what we saw.

712
00:33:43,843 --> 00:33:46,428
And that's actually what speaks to the humanity

713
00:33:46,470 --> 00:33:48,288
of folks here in Mississippi, you know,

714
00:33:48,330 --> 00:33:51,198
is that in tough times, we do know how to come together.

715
00:33:51,240 --> 00:33:53,118
We do know how to band together.

716
00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:54,978
I mean, I think one thing that you never realize

717
00:33:55,020 --> 00:33:57,558
is how important water is until it's gone.

718
00:33:57,600 --> 00:33:59,328
And so for folks who are living

719
00:33:59,370 --> 00:34:00,588
where they can't get out the house

720
00:34:00,630 --> 00:34:03,558
and make it to a distribution site, our team,

721
00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:07,038
our ground team was making, was delivering water

722
00:34:07,080 --> 00:34:09,858
door to door to residents that were calling,

723
00:34:09,900 --> 00:34:12,138
asking for water to be distributed to them.

724
00:34:12,180 --> 00:34:14,268
So we had a team that not only was

725
00:34:14,310 --> 00:34:16,548
doing water distribution at the sites,

726
00:34:16,590 --> 00:34:18,138
but also going door to door.

727
00:34:18,180 --> 00:34:19,878
So we saw many elderly people

728
00:34:19,920 --> 00:34:22,578
who could not get to a water distribution site.

729
00:34:22,620 --> 00:34:25,368
We saw many people living with disabilities.

730
00:34:25,410 --> 00:34:27,768
We would go to apartment complexes

731
00:34:27,810 --> 00:34:31,098
that are filled primarily with people

732
00:34:31,140 --> 00:34:32,265
who are living with disabilities

733
00:34:32,307 --> 00:34:35,448
and we would go door to door distribute water to them.

734
00:34:35,490 --> 00:34:38,058
When you talk about children, right?

735
00:34:38,100 --> 00:34:39,708
A lot of our children were out of school

736
00:34:39,750 --> 00:34:41,778
because the schools did not have water.

737
00:34:41,820 --> 00:34:42,948
You couldn't flush the toilet,

738
00:34:42,990 --> 00:34:44,115
you couldn't do things like that.

739
00:34:44,157 --> 00:34:46,158
And so one of the things that we did is that

740
00:34:46,200 --> 00:34:48,018
we ensured that we would go on the neighborhoods

741
00:34:48,060 --> 00:34:50,088
where there were a number of children also

742
00:34:50,130 --> 00:34:51,528
that were home from school.

743
00:34:51,570 --> 00:34:53,238
And then when schools were able to reopen,

744
00:34:53,280 --> 00:34:55,458
we were making sure that we
were getting pallets of water

745
00:34:55,500 --> 00:34:58,548
to those schools so that
they could continue to operate,

746
00:34:58,590 --> 00:34:59,898
and folks could have young,

747
00:34:59,940 --> 00:35:01,518
the children could have drinkable water,

748
00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:02,898
teachers could have drinkable water,

749
00:35:02,940 --> 00:35:04,425
staff could have drinkable water.

750
00:35:04,467 --> 00:35:06,421
Come on.

751
00:35:06,463 --> 00:35:09,546
All right, hold on, hold on, hold on.

752
00:35:15,107 --> 00:35:18,318
I just really, honestly, I thought of the beauty

753
00:35:18,360 --> 00:35:21,918
of our people, of residents of Jackson,

754
00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:24,258
of people who care about each other in this place.

755
00:35:24,300 --> 00:35:26,868
For me, the most significant component

756
00:35:26,910 --> 00:35:29,298
of all of that was how we came together.

757
00:35:29,340 --> 00:35:33,213
You saw neighbors to
neighbors picking up other elderly,

758
00:35:34,110 --> 00:35:36,018
neighbors picking up other elderly members

759
00:35:36,060 --> 00:35:37,938
that couldn't get there or
comment and pulling in line

760
00:35:37,980 --> 00:35:39,138
and saying, "I'm just gonna pick it up

761
00:35:39,180 --> 00:35:41,118
for my neighbor who can't get out here."

762
00:35:41,160 --> 00:35:44,058
You know, I remember tears of like older people

763
00:35:44,100 --> 00:35:45,715
just coming and saying, you know, like,

764
00:35:45,757 --> 00:35:47,358
"Just thank you so much.

765
00:35:47,400 --> 00:35:48,558
Thank you so much for caring."

766
00:35:48,600 --> 00:35:50,058
Like that's what I remember.

767
00:35:50,100 --> 00:35:52,188
I remember the days too going home

768
00:35:52,230 --> 00:35:54,888
and forgetting to bring me a
case of water and getting home

769
00:35:54,930 --> 00:35:56,928
and not having water myself, right?

770
00:35:56,970 --> 00:35:58,998
I remember those days and those times.

771
00:35:59,040 --> 00:36:02,088
But for me, I think what really settled,

772
00:36:02,130 --> 00:36:05,568
what really just grounded me, which really helped

773
00:36:05,610 --> 00:36:08,958
to continue to push me, to continue to be available

774
00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:14,000
for folks was just how
community overall in this city

775
00:36:14,880 --> 00:36:16,878
came together to care for each other.

776
00:36:16,920 --> 00:36:20,928
The water was not safe enough to wash your clothes in.

777
00:36:20,970 --> 00:36:23,088
Then how could it be safe enough for you to bathe in?

778
00:36:23,130 --> 00:36:26,018
How could it be safe enough
for you to brush your teeth in

779
00:36:26,060 --> 00:36:28,518
or to prepare a meal for your family?

780
00:36:28,560 --> 00:36:33,318
Like, it places people at
such an extreme burden, right?

781
00:36:33,360 --> 00:36:36,745
When you talk about, you
know, a city like Jackson, where,

782
00:36:36,787 --> 00:36:38,988
you know, we have a little bit of everybody

783
00:36:39,030 --> 00:36:39,858
who live in this city.

784
00:36:39,900 --> 00:36:42,228
You know, you have some of your more affluent folks

785
00:36:42,270 --> 00:36:43,548
who live in Northeast Jackson.

786
00:36:43,590 --> 00:36:45,918
You have folks who are living paycheck to paycheck

787
00:36:45,960 --> 00:36:48,018
that live in some of the other areas of Jackson.

788
00:36:48,060 --> 00:36:50,808
And so when you talk about the gamut, you know,

789
00:36:50,850 --> 00:36:53,388
that runs through the types of lifestyles

790
00:36:53,430 --> 00:36:55,338
and quality of life that people experience here,

791
00:36:55,380 --> 00:36:57,288
you know, it's few and far between.

792
00:36:57,330 --> 00:37:00,108
And so, you know, when it came down to

793
00:37:00,150 --> 00:37:01,668
what we were really talking about,

794
00:37:01,710 --> 00:37:04,488
we're talking about people's inability to get to work.

795
00:37:04,530 --> 00:37:06,168
You know, we're talking about school closure.

796
00:37:06,210 --> 00:37:07,538
So then parents can't go to work

797
00:37:07,580 --> 00:37:09,108
if their kids can't go to school.

798
00:37:09,150 --> 00:37:10,848
You know, daycares aren't open.

799
00:37:10,890 --> 00:37:14,718
And so the whole quality
of life changes in an instant.

800
00:37:14,760 --> 00:37:17,958
And that's what we were facing, not just for a day or two,

801
00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:21,078
but we were dealing with this for months in the city.

802
00:37:21,120 --> 00:37:22,068
And then you think about people

803
00:37:22,110 --> 00:37:24,558
who were providing the response to the crisis.

804
00:37:24,600 --> 00:37:26,928
These were people who were also impacted, right?

805
00:37:26,970 --> 00:37:28,998
People who lived in this city, worked in this city,

806
00:37:29,040 --> 00:37:29,975
had children with the school here,

807
00:37:30,017 --> 00:37:32,418
you're talking about churches having to close,

808
00:37:32,460 --> 00:37:34,878
you're talking about shelters
that weren't able to function.

809
00:37:34,920 --> 00:37:37,818
You're talking about so many different things.

810
00:37:37,860 --> 00:37:39,948
And we just didn't get the type of response

811
00:37:39,990 --> 00:37:43,995
that people deserved from
our leadership here in the state.

812
00:37:44,037 --> 00:37:47,718
And it was just unfortunate, it was inhumane,

813
00:37:47,760 --> 00:37:49,919
and it's something that we need to address.

814
00:37:49,961 --> 00:37:50,794
Ooh wee.

815
00:37:53,070 --> 00:37:53,987
Oh my Lord.

816
00:37:55,235 --> 00:37:56,909
♪ Thank you ♪

817
00:37:56,951 --> 00:37:58,582
♪ Thank you ♪

818
00:37:58,624 --> 00:38:00,509
I see you got it in you, man.

819
00:38:00,551 --> 00:38:03,205
What you doing for me right now.

820
00:38:03,247 --> 00:38:04,664
Send my brothers.

821
00:38:05,841 --> 00:38:08,070
♪ Yeah ♪

822
00:38:08,112 --> 00:38:09,971
♪ Yeah ♪

823
00:38:10,013 --> 00:38:13,608
♪ Yeah, my Lord ♪

824
00:38:13,650 --> 00:38:17,107
♪ So, so good ♪

825
00:38:17,149 --> 00:38:20,400
♪ So good to me right now ♪

826
00:38:20,442 --> 00:38:22,692
♪ Oh, Lord ♪

827
00:38:24,673 --> 00:38:25,936
He-hey.

828
00:38:25,978 --> 00:38:28,311
Sing it to me.

829
00:38:29,417 --> 00:38:34,417
♪ Oh, summer will be over ♪

830
00:38:34,500 --> 00:38:37,044
♪ We'll be going home ♪

831
00:38:37,086 --> 00:38:40,183
♪ On the other side ♪

832
00:38:40,225 --> 00:38:43,894
♪ Yeah ♪

833
00:38:43,936 --> 00:38:48,425
♪ Won't have to cry no more, oh ♪

834
00:38:48,467 --> 00:38:50,142
♪ Oh ♪

835
00:38:50,184 --> 00:38:52,685
♪ Won't have to cry no more ♪

836
00:38:52,727 --> 00:38:54,648
♪ Won't be lied no more ♪

837
00:38:54,690 --> 00:38:57,438
Despite, you know, partisan politics

838
00:38:57,480 --> 00:39:00,138
and you know, folks who have their own agendas

839
00:39:00,180 --> 00:39:04,608
and vendettas, it is essential,

840
00:39:04,650 --> 00:39:09,438
it was essential for us to see each other's humanity,

841
00:39:09,480 --> 00:39:11,508
right, beyond the color of our skin.

842
00:39:11,550 --> 00:39:13,098
We had to see each other's humanity.

843
00:39:13,140 --> 00:39:16,413
And I think that's what made the response possible.

844
00:39:17,550 --> 00:39:21,498
I would also say, you know,
some of the other challenges

845
00:39:21,540 --> 00:39:24,648
that we learned of during the crisis was that

846
00:39:24,690 --> 00:39:28,698
the reality of the healthcare epidemic

847
00:39:28,740 --> 00:39:31,008
that we experienced here in this state as well, right?

848
00:39:31,050 --> 00:39:32,178
No one wants to call it that,

849
00:39:32,220 --> 00:39:35,208
but it is an epidemic that we experience here

850
00:39:35,250 --> 00:39:37,698
in the state of Mississippi
when it comes to healthcare.

851
00:39:37,740 --> 00:39:40,248
We're talking about not only strained

852
00:39:40,290 --> 00:39:42,228
and stretched hospital systems,

853
00:39:42,270 --> 00:39:44,178
but we're talking about crumbling

854
00:39:44,220 --> 00:39:47,838
and decrepit infrastructure
on top of those systems, right?

855
00:39:47,880 --> 00:39:49,998
We're talking about the fact that

856
00:39:50,040 --> 00:39:51,368
there's only one trauma center

857
00:39:51,410 --> 00:39:53,478
in the entire state of Mississippi, and that's at

858
00:39:53,520 --> 00:39:55,848
the University of Mississippi
Medical Center, right?

859
00:39:55,890 --> 00:39:58,128
We're talking about parts of Mississippi,

860
00:39:58,170 --> 00:40:00,738
particularly in Mississippi Delta,

861
00:40:00,780 --> 00:40:03,918
where you are experiencing hospital closures

862
00:40:03,960 --> 00:40:06,678
at an exorbitant amount, right, at an exorbitant rate.

863
00:40:06,720 --> 00:40:10,188
People have to travel anywhere from 50 to 75 miles

864
00:40:10,230 --> 00:40:12,183
just to get adequate healthcare.

865
00:40:22,091 --> 00:40:24,108
Well, many of the schools had to shut down.

866
00:40:24,150 --> 00:40:26,478
Like that's the reality of they had to shut down

867
00:40:26,520 --> 00:40:30,408
and those students had to go
back home for periods of time,

868
00:40:30,450 --> 00:40:34,035
you know, because they didn't
have clean water on campus.

869
00:40:34,077 --> 00:40:37,518
And some programs, some students at Jackson center,

870
00:40:37,560 --> 00:40:40,218
they couldn't go home, so they still had to stay here.

871
00:40:40,260 --> 00:40:41,688
And that's where community came in.

872
00:40:41,730 --> 00:40:44,568
People provided meals on a regular,

873
00:40:44,610 --> 00:40:48,228
we provided water bottles and cases of water.

874
00:40:48,270 --> 00:40:51,168
I think through the Mississippi
Rapid Response Coalition,

875
00:40:51,210 --> 00:40:55,488
we dispersed more than a
million cases of water, right?

876
00:40:55,530 --> 00:40:56,868
Because people needed it.

877
00:40:56,910 --> 00:41:00,348
And this money, we had money
coming in from other places

878
00:41:00,390 --> 00:41:03,138
like outside sources, private, you know, donations

879
00:41:03,180 --> 00:41:06,258
and funds just to help us
sustain this infrastructure.

880
00:41:06,300 --> 00:41:08,928
You're talking about a small consortium

881
00:41:08,970 --> 00:41:12,438
of community partners coming
together to help meet a need

882
00:41:12,480 --> 00:41:15,528
that we couldn't depend on our government to do for us.

883
00:41:15,570 --> 00:41:16,848
And that's the role of government,

884
00:41:16,890 --> 00:41:19,068
is to provide and protect for its people

885
00:41:19,110 --> 00:41:21,018
in a place where you're paying taxes

886
00:41:21,060 --> 00:41:24,018
and you can't have access
to clean state drinkable water.

887
00:41:24,060 --> 00:41:26,358
People decide that that's a political issue

888
00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:28,938
when water should be a human right.

889
00:41:28,980 --> 00:41:31,025
That's what we're dealing
with down here in Mississippi.

890
00:41:31,067 --> 00:41:33,828
And so when it's time to step up, I'm so happy

891
00:41:33,870 --> 00:41:38,058
that we had people who
understood that this goes beyond

892
00:41:38,100 --> 00:41:40,578
anything that's going on Capitol Street,

893
00:41:40,620 --> 00:41:42,078
whether it's the governor mansion,

894
00:41:42,120 --> 00:41:45,288
whether it's the Mississippi State Capitol.

895
00:41:45,330 --> 00:41:46,308
It didn't matter.

896
00:41:46,350 --> 00:41:47,958
People deserved clean water.

897
00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:50,358
And it was the community that came together

898
00:41:50,400 --> 00:41:52,237
to ensure that we had that.

899
00:41:52,279 --> 00:41:57,279
Hey, hey, hey, you can walk up and put you back.

900
00:42:06,557 --> 00:42:09,768
And so that for me was more important than anything.

901
00:42:09,810 --> 00:42:13,728
And it told us that we truly are our own saviors,

902
00:42:13,770 --> 00:42:18,770
that we are the change, we
are the resource that we need.

903
00:42:19,620 --> 00:42:21,198
You know, when we talk about water

904
00:42:21,240 --> 00:42:23,411
and not having access to clean drinkable water,

905
00:42:23,453 --> 00:42:25,818
you know, one of the things that I'll tell you

906
00:42:25,860 --> 00:42:27,738
that Jacksonians have been doing,

907
00:42:27,780 --> 00:42:29,988
we have been the true heroes of every story

908
00:42:30,030 --> 00:42:31,638
around our climate issues.

909
00:42:31,680 --> 00:42:34,608
You know, we have been the ones that have fit the bill.

910
00:42:34,650 --> 00:42:37,818
When the state wasn't paying
for it, we were paying for it.

911
00:42:37,860 --> 00:42:40,115
We were paying for those little
bandaids that were happening

912
00:42:40,157 --> 00:42:43,158
to the water plant every time there was a pipe leak

913
00:42:43,200 --> 00:42:46,578
or a burst or, you know, a crack, you know?

914
00:42:46,620 --> 00:42:48,768
And so I'm just proud of this city.

915
00:42:48,810 --> 00:42:49,908
I'm proud of the residents.

916
00:42:49,950 --> 00:42:51,705
I'm proud of our ability to come together

917
00:42:51,747 --> 00:42:54,888
and to continue to problem solve collectively.

918
00:42:54,930 --> 00:42:59,930
The Jackson water issues that goes back 50 years.

919
00:43:01,500 --> 00:43:04,488
And they need to read all of the documentation

920
00:43:04,530 --> 00:43:09,530
of the problems that have been well-documented

921
00:43:09,690 --> 00:43:14,508
of all of the requests that had been put forth

922
00:43:14,550 --> 00:43:19,550
by the last at least five administrations

923
00:43:19,950 --> 00:43:24,950
to the governors from the
last five city administrations

924
00:43:26,190 --> 00:43:30,438
to the last governors that had been well-documented

925
00:43:30,480 --> 00:43:32,500
requesting help, begging for help

926
00:43:33,720 --> 00:43:37,338
that had been ignored and turned down.

927
00:43:37,380 --> 00:43:39,528
Those had been well-documented.

928
00:43:39,570 --> 00:43:41,298
Whose life matters to you?

929
00:43:41,340 --> 00:43:44,478
Because when it comes to
the black and brown children

930
00:43:44,520 --> 00:43:48,318
in Jackson, those lives are inconsequential to you.

931
00:43:48,360 --> 00:43:49,938
Because if they matter to you,

932
00:43:49,980 --> 00:43:52,488
then you would not be holding
hostage to the city's funds

933
00:43:52,530 --> 00:43:54,348
to repair its water system.

934
00:43:54,390 --> 00:43:57,228
If those lives matter to you,
you would be closing schools

935
00:43:57,270 --> 00:43:59,523
left and right here in the city.

936
00:44:00,863 --> 00:44:01,998
If those lives matter to you,

937
00:44:02,040 --> 00:44:05,808
you would not have sent
back funding to feed those kids

938
00:44:05,850 --> 00:44:08,478
during the summer if their
lives really matter to you,

939
00:44:08,520 --> 00:44:09,978
if you were really pro-life.

940
00:44:10,020 --> 00:44:12,318
So we have to really define what that means

941
00:44:12,360 --> 00:44:14,358
in a place like Mississippi, right?

942
00:44:14,400 --> 00:44:17,118
Are you talking about pro-life as it benefits you?

943
00:44:17,160 --> 00:44:20,628
Or you're talking about
pro-life as as it exists in general?

944
00:44:20,670 --> 00:44:22,398
Charity starts at home.

945
00:44:22,440 --> 00:44:23,868
Then it spreads abroad.

946
00:44:23,910 --> 00:44:27,198
You can't talk about trying
to solve a humanitarian crisis

947
00:44:27,240 --> 00:44:28,758
across the waters when you're dealing with

948
00:44:28,800 --> 00:44:30,978
a humanitarian crisis right here at home.

949
00:44:31,020 --> 00:44:33,558
And what is happening here in Mississippi

950
00:44:33,600 --> 00:44:36,798
is worth every single taxpayer dime

951
00:44:36,840 --> 00:44:38,298
that you can afford to this state.

952
00:44:38,340 --> 00:44:40,818
You gotta fix what's happening at home first.

953
00:44:40,860 --> 00:44:43,338
You can't say that you care more about, you know,

954
00:44:43,380 --> 00:44:45,498
land and territory being taken from Ukraine

955
00:44:45,540 --> 00:44:47,238
when you don't care about land territory being taken

956
00:44:47,280 --> 00:44:49,278
from black people right here
in the state of Mississippi.

957
00:44:49,320 --> 00:44:54,320
You can't talk about, you know,
wanting a stable democracy

958
00:44:54,510 --> 00:44:56,328
for all these foreign countries
when you don't care about

959
00:44:56,370 --> 00:44:58,548
a stable democracy right here in Mississippi.

960
00:44:58,590 --> 00:45:00,528
We're fighting voting rights challenges

961
00:45:00,570 --> 00:45:02,088
every single day in this state.

962
00:45:02,130 --> 00:45:03,858
Part of the reason we're here is because

963
00:45:03,900 --> 00:45:05,928
we have gerrymandering that has happened

964
00:45:05,970 --> 00:45:07,188
throughout the state for centuries

965
00:45:07,230 --> 00:45:09,798
that have not allowed us to be able to elect

966
00:45:09,840 --> 00:45:12,318
the type of representatives
that we need and we deserve.

967
00:45:12,360 --> 00:45:13,668
That's what we're talking about here.

968
00:45:13,710 --> 00:45:15,798
And I'm talking about at a statewide level.

969
00:45:15,840 --> 00:45:17,418
And that's because of policy

970
00:45:17,460 --> 00:45:19,608
that's been in place since 1890.

971
00:45:19,650 --> 00:45:22,158
So we're still living under Jim Crow law

972
00:45:22,200 --> 00:45:23,523
in the 21st century.

973
00:45:28,600 --> 00:45:30,183
It's all you now.

974
00:45:40,710 --> 00:45:43,518
It's probably the first time

975
00:45:43,560 --> 00:45:48,560
that our mayors have come together in a friendly way

976
00:45:50,040 --> 00:45:52,428
over the course of the last few years.

977
00:45:52,470 --> 00:45:55,083
But they came together and said that yes,

978
00:45:56,490 --> 00:46:01,490
all of us collectively have
put in requests to governors

979
00:46:02,730 --> 00:46:06,588
during our administration asking for assistance

980
00:46:06,630 --> 00:46:10,605
for our water because we
knew that this time was coming

981
00:46:10,647 --> 00:46:14,328
and all of us received a resounding no.

982
00:46:14,370 --> 00:46:19,370
And there's also proven
documentation from our governor now

983
00:46:20,040 --> 00:46:24,648
that said he would not spend
a dime in the city of Jackson

984
00:46:24,690 --> 00:46:27,468
until we did something about crime.

985
00:46:27,510 --> 00:46:32,510
And he said that in his state
of the state address in 2021.

986
00:46:32,847 --> 00:46:35,388
And so all of this is well-documented.

987
00:46:35,430 --> 00:46:37,758
And so that's what I would say to people

988
00:46:37,800 --> 00:46:40,368
who say that it's a local issue.

989
00:46:40,410 --> 00:46:42,948
The federal government across
the board has been negligent

990
00:46:42,990 --> 00:46:46,098
in delivering and investing
in water infrastructure

991
00:46:46,140 --> 00:46:47,718
across this country.

992
00:46:47,760 --> 00:46:51,228
The state of Mississippi has
been intentionally negligent

993
00:46:51,270 --> 00:46:53,628
in investing in a predominantly black city

994
00:46:53,670 --> 00:46:56,418
and especially a black-led city.

995
00:46:56,460 --> 00:46:57,858
We've heard over and over again

996
00:46:57,900 --> 00:46:59,628
from our conservative leadership

997
00:46:59,670 --> 00:47:03,048
what they exactly feel about black leadership

998
00:47:03,090 --> 00:47:06,408
and that is that black people can't govern, right?

999
00:47:06,450 --> 00:47:09,588
And so they push that narrative,

1000
00:47:09,630 --> 00:47:11,988
but yet they're the ones who are caught

1001
00:47:12,030 --> 00:47:14,748
with their hands in the cookie jar stealing, right,

1002
00:47:14,790 --> 00:47:16,818
and really can't govern.

1003
00:47:16,860 --> 00:47:20,058
If that was the case of blacks can't govern,

1004
00:47:20,100 --> 00:47:21,708
but whites can, Mississippi wouldn't be

1005
00:47:21,750 --> 00:47:23,418
in the condition that it is in today.

1006
00:47:23,460 --> 00:47:26,958
So yesterday evening was a much better evening

1007
00:47:27,000 --> 00:47:28,100
than the night before.

1008
00:47:29,160 --> 00:47:31,218
They were able to get in a basket of water

1009
00:47:31,260 --> 00:47:36,260
that they could actually
better clean or better treat.

1010
00:47:38,670 --> 00:47:41,988
And so that has led to gains within the system.

1011
00:47:42,030 --> 00:47:45,490
There were people that on Tuesday morning

1012
00:47:46,876 --> 00:47:49,218
that did not have water on Monday

1013
00:47:49,260 --> 00:47:53,028
that were able to see, you know, pressure return.

1014
00:47:53,070 --> 00:47:56,568
We lost some of that progress later that evening.

1015
00:47:56,610 --> 00:48:00,288
And so I think we've made
those gains back in that regard.

1016
00:48:00,330 --> 00:48:01,578
But we still have a distance to go.

1017
00:48:01,620 --> 00:48:05,328
As you know, anytime we have our tanks bottom out,

1018
00:48:05,370 --> 00:48:09,048
it's really just a waiting game, you know,

1019
00:48:09,090 --> 00:48:10,998
dependent upon our ability to continue

1020
00:48:11,040 --> 00:48:13,218
to treat it at the pace that we're treating it,

1021
00:48:13,260 --> 00:48:16,218
dependent upon our ability to maintain pressure,

1022
00:48:16,260 --> 00:48:17,898
then we see steady growth.

1023
00:48:17,940 --> 00:48:21,648
And so that steady progress is taking place.

1024
00:48:21,690 --> 00:48:23,575
We certainly can't say
mission accomplished just yet.

1025
00:48:23,617 --> 00:48:26,718
Well, you can't talk about environmental racism

1026
00:48:26,760 --> 00:48:29,538
if you don't talk about
racial injustice in and of itself.

1027
00:48:29,580 --> 00:48:32,838
And here in Mississippi, we've
been dealing with that since,

1028
00:48:32,880 --> 00:48:34,848
I dare to say almost the beginning of

1029
00:48:34,890 --> 00:48:36,528
the formation of the state, right?

1030
00:48:36,570 --> 00:48:39,018
We are a Jim Crow state.

1031
00:48:39,060 --> 00:48:41,208
It has been cemented into our policy.

1032
00:48:41,250 --> 00:48:44,178
You can look back at the 1890 constitution

1033
00:48:44,220 --> 00:48:46,908
here in Mississippi where
it explicitly states that

1034
00:48:46,950 --> 00:48:48,798
many of the laws that are in place here in the state

1035
00:48:48,840 --> 00:48:51,618
are designed to keep black people

1036
00:48:51,660 --> 00:48:53,298
in a position of destitute.

1037
00:48:53,340 --> 00:48:56,568
And so when we talk about
the failing infrastructure

1038
00:48:56,610 --> 00:48:59,628
and the challenges that we
experience here in the city,

1039
00:48:59,670 --> 00:49:02,238
all that results back to just the plight of

1040
00:49:02,280 --> 00:49:03,648
racism in and of itself.

1041
00:49:03,690 --> 00:49:06,708
So you can't talk about environmental injustice

1042
00:49:06,750 --> 00:49:08,448
if you're not talking about racial injustice.

1043
00:49:08,490 --> 00:49:11,538
And unfortunately, Mississippi
has made that a cash cow

1044
00:49:11,580 --> 00:49:13,458
and black people are the currency.

1045
00:49:13,500 --> 00:49:16,338
So as a result of the water crisis

1046
00:49:16,380 --> 00:49:19,218
here in the city of Jackson, we,

1047
00:49:19,260 --> 00:49:20,813
the national campaign co-chairs,

1048
00:49:20,855 --> 00:49:24,948
Dr. William Barber II has brought in

1049
00:49:24,990 --> 00:49:27,408
a legal team for justice.

1050
00:49:27,450 --> 00:49:31,908
We launched the, this is, I believe the first time ever

1051
00:49:31,950 --> 00:49:36,108
where community has been
able to get legal representation

1052
00:49:36,150 --> 00:49:38,568
and fight our local government, state government,

1053
00:49:38,610 --> 00:49:41,748
and federal government, want to be inclusive,

1054
00:49:41,790 --> 00:49:46,548
that residents are to be
inclusive in this governing process

1055
00:49:46,590 --> 00:49:47,838
around the water infrastructure

1056
00:49:47,880 --> 00:49:51,348
and know what's actually going on with our water.

1057
00:49:51,390 --> 00:49:54,738
Right now, we're locked out of the process.

1058
00:49:54,780 --> 00:49:58,008
We're locked out of if our water is actually clean.

1059
00:49:58,050 --> 00:50:00,048
All we have right now is a word of mouth.

1060
00:50:00,090 --> 00:50:03,288
Our third party interim
manager who is not accountable

1061
00:50:03,330 --> 00:50:06,288
to anyone other than a judge.

1062
00:50:06,330 --> 00:50:07,998
And I will say a conservative judge

1063
00:50:08,040 --> 00:50:11,568
who has shown his disdain and spoken his disdain,

1064
00:50:11,610 --> 00:50:13,518
I guess this predominantly black city,

1065
00:50:13,560 --> 00:50:14,853
and he's black himself.

1066
00:50:16,290 --> 00:50:19,908
And so it's almost like we don't really have

1067
00:50:19,950 --> 00:50:21,588
a dog in the fight.

1068
00:50:21,630 --> 00:50:23,808
And so the only way to get some answers,

1069
00:50:23,850 --> 00:50:26,778
to get any kind of resolve and to be included

1070
00:50:26,820 --> 00:50:30,288
and having a seat at the
table as it relates to community,

1071
00:50:30,330 --> 00:50:34,578
the Poor People's Campaign
brought in attorneys for justice.

1072
00:50:34,620 --> 00:50:36,798
Other partners began to bring in attorneys

1073
00:50:36,840 --> 00:50:38,508
as well on a national level.

1074
00:50:38,550 --> 00:50:40,578
So now we have forward justice set up

1075
00:50:40,620 --> 00:50:42,168
for constitutional right.

1076
00:50:42,210 --> 00:50:45,468
National Research Defense Council and ACLU

1077
00:50:45,510 --> 00:50:47,208
that are all a part of the legal team

1078
00:50:47,250 --> 00:50:49,668
leading the Poor People's Campaign along with

1079
00:50:49,710 --> 00:50:53,988
People's Advocacy Institute as a part of the lawsuit

1080
00:50:54,030 --> 00:50:56,508
around the water crisis and to intervene

1081
00:50:56,550 --> 00:50:57,948
in this lawsuit as well.

1082
00:50:57,990 --> 00:50:59,688
I think it was May of last year,

1083
00:50:59,730 --> 00:51:02,718
we filed a complaint with
the Department of Treasury.

1084
00:51:02,760 --> 00:51:06,168
So what happened in that
legislative session was that

1085
00:51:06,210 --> 00:51:08,628
the legislature came back, and in April,

1086
00:51:08,670 --> 00:51:11,311
they decided that they would take the ARPA funds

1087
00:51:11,353 --> 00:51:13,458
and cities that were like Jackson

1088
00:51:13,500 --> 00:51:15,048
could receive a one-to-one match.

1089
00:51:15,090 --> 00:51:17,388
Some cities could receive a two-to-one match,

1090
00:51:17,430 --> 00:51:20,928
but any money that was
appropriated for the city of Jackson

1091
00:51:20,970 --> 00:51:23,928
had to go into the state managed treasury fund.

1092
00:51:23,970 --> 00:51:27,468
And then that money could only be spent

1093
00:51:27,510 --> 00:51:29,808
at the approval of the legislature.

1094
00:51:29,850 --> 00:51:32,148
Now, what does that do for the leadership of Jackson?

1095
00:51:32,190 --> 00:51:34,458
Well, one, it makes it seem
like the leadership is incapable

1096
00:51:34,500 --> 00:51:36,438
of managing its own money and its own budget.

1097
00:51:36,480 --> 00:51:38,028
And this is the capital city.

1098
00:51:38,070 --> 00:51:40,878
This is the largest municipality

1099
00:51:40,920 --> 00:51:42,408
in the state of Mississippi.

1100
00:51:42,450 --> 00:51:46,848
But yet because its leadership
reflects its population,

1101
00:51:46,890 --> 00:51:48,828
it's now being held in a stronghold.

1102
00:51:48,870 --> 00:51:51,318
And so that money's now have to be sanctioned.

1103
00:51:51,360 --> 00:51:52,728
It's already been approved and allocated,

1104
00:51:52,770 --> 00:51:53,808
but now it has to be managed

1105
00:51:53,850 --> 00:51:56,328
and then dispersed by the state.

1106
00:51:56,370 --> 00:51:57,288
The state of Mississippi

1107
00:51:57,330 --> 00:52:00,738
has $1.8 billion in ARPA funds.

1108
00:52:00,780 --> 00:52:03,108
The following news report
seems to support the claim

1109
00:52:03,150 --> 00:52:06,228
that cities other than Jackson
are getting their fair share

1110
00:52:06,270 --> 00:52:08,598
for infrastructure improvements,

1111
00:52:08,640 --> 00:52:10,758
Water and sewer work, it comes about.

1112
00:52:10,800 --> 00:52:13,098
And so in this particular case,

1113
00:52:13,140 --> 00:52:15,768
we knew that ARPA dollars were available.

1114
00:52:15,810 --> 00:52:17,478
We knew that then we could get a state match

1115
00:52:17,520 --> 00:52:18,825
because of the work of
Lieutenant Governor Hosemann

1116
00:52:18,867 --> 00:52:20,058
and our delegation.

1117
00:52:20,100 --> 00:52:22,698
And so to have a $4 million project happen

1118
00:52:22,740 --> 00:52:25,068
was almost all of it, construction wise,

1119
00:52:25,110 --> 00:52:27,108
being paid for by the state and federal government's

1120
00:52:27,150 --> 00:52:27,978
a big deal for us.

1121
00:52:28,020 --> 00:52:31,008
We got $1.8 billion in the state.

1122
00:52:31,050 --> 00:52:33,288
And when we got that, I just was very concerned

1123
00:52:33,330 --> 00:52:35,688
that we not turned around two or three years later

1124
00:52:35,730 --> 00:52:38,058
not be able to find anything we've done with it.

1125
00:52:38,100 --> 00:52:42,348
So we allocated $450 million to match cities

1126
00:52:42,390 --> 00:52:44,358
if they would put it in water and sewer.

1127
00:52:44,400 --> 00:52:46,455
And of course, Hattiesburg, under Toby's leadership

1128
00:52:46,497 --> 00:52:49,331
and the city council, they
have great leadership here.

1129
00:52:49,373 --> 00:52:52,698
So they jumped on it right
away, and it'll be $20 million

1130
00:52:52,740 --> 00:52:53,798
that'll go into water and sewer

1131
00:52:53,840 --> 00:52:55,398
in all of these neighborhoods.

1132
00:52:55,440 --> 00:52:56,688
They'll be here for generations.

1133
00:52:56,730 --> 00:52:59,328
As we delve into the layers of this crisis,

1134
00:52:59,370 --> 00:53:02,208
we encounter not just the
failing pipes underground,

1135
00:53:02,250 --> 00:53:06,198
but also the complex tapestry
of economic disparities,

1136
00:53:06,240 --> 00:53:09,408
political gridlock, and environmental challenges

1137
00:53:09,450 --> 00:53:11,388
that have woven themselves into the fabric

1138
00:53:11,430 --> 00:53:13,038
of Jackson's troubles.

1139
00:53:13,080 --> 00:53:15,528
Well, I can't give an exhaustive history of the city,

1140
00:53:15,570 --> 00:53:17,808
but I can say since we have been in office,

1141
00:53:17,850 --> 00:53:21,139
it has always been part and
parcel of my legislative agenda.

1142
00:53:21,181 --> 00:53:24,438
There have been different concepts

1143
00:53:24,480 --> 00:53:26,688
that we have released in that effort,

1144
00:53:26,730 --> 00:53:29,928
but we always push towards a robust funding

1145
00:53:29,970 --> 00:53:32,178
of this infrastructure and we'll continue to do it.

1146
00:53:32,220 --> 00:53:34,493
We know what we're dealing with with the state.

1147
00:53:35,370 --> 00:53:38,748
We will not get anywhere with the state.

1148
00:53:38,790 --> 00:53:39,948
I don't believe in any time soon,

1149
00:53:39,990 --> 00:53:42,588
unless we're ready to get on our knees

1150
00:53:42,630 --> 00:53:44,127
and say, "Yes, sir, master,"

1151
00:53:45,510 --> 00:53:47,660
and take whatever qualms they're willing to

1152
00:53:49,020 --> 00:53:50,870
drop on the ground for us to pick up.

1153
00:53:52,470 --> 00:53:57,183
But right now, reality is that we have a extremist,

1154
00:53:59,040 --> 00:54:02,088
very conservative state government

1155
00:54:02,130 --> 00:54:06,423
who does not care about poor low, wealth people.

1156
00:54:07,410 --> 00:54:11,133
And they do not care about black or brown people.

1157
00:54:12,030 --> 00:54:14,628
So you got poor whites they don't care about,

1158
00:54:14,670 --> 00:54:17,988
and you got black and brown, whether you're wealthy,

1159
00:54:18,030 --> 00:54:20,058
middle class or poor.

1160
00:54:20,100 --> 00:54:22,008
They don't care about us either.

1161
00:54:22,050 --> 00:54:24,498
The same reason that the
government has been denying

1162
00:54:24,540 --> 00:54:26,508
the city of Jackson its adequate funding

1163
00:54:26,550 --> 00:54:28,248
for the last several years.

1164
00:54:28,290 --> 00:54:30,558
It's because of racism, right?

1165
00:54:30,600 --> 00:54:33,828
You cannot say that we are the capital city,

1166
00:54:33,870 --> 00:54:35,568
we have the largest populations

1167
00:54:35,610 --> 00:54:38,508
of any county here in the state, right?

1168
00:54:38,550 --> 00:54:40,008
You can get into all 82 counties,

1169
00:54:40,050 --> 00:54:44,148
Hinds County has the largest sloth of people, right?

1170
00:54:44,190 --> 00:54:45,768
Majority of which are black people.

1171
00:54:45,810 --> 00:54:48,918
You cannot tell me that your humanity

1172
00:54:48,960 --> 00:54:51,708
doesn't allow you to service those people

1173
00:54:51,750 --> 00:54:53,868
be it for nothing other than racism, right?

1174
00:54:53,910 --> 00:54:57,918
And that is the unfortunate telling of our state,

1175
00:54:57,960 --> 00:55:00,678
it is the unfortunate telling of our city,

1176
00:55:00,720 --> 00:55:03,558
but it's just been, it's an amalgamation of failure.

1177
00:55:03,600 --> 00:55:06,918
You know, it's not just one particular body

1178
00:55:06,960 --> 00:55:09,648
or person who's kind of contributed to this.

1179
00:55:09,690 --> 00:55:11,828
It has been systemic failure.

1180
00:55:11,870 --> 00:55:13,698
It has been institutional failure.

1181
00:55:13,740 --> 00:55:15,468
When you talk about state leadership,

1182
00:55:15,510 --> 00:55:18,318
when you talk about city leadership, it's all of it.

1183
00:55:18,360 --> 00:55:21,438
All of these self-interested leaders have failed

1184
00:55:21,480 --> 00:55:24,408
the people here in this capital city of Jackson.

1185
00:55:24,450 --> 00:55:26,208
Fixing of Jackson's water infrastructure

1186
00:55:26,250 --> 00:55:27,918
will not be an overnight fix.

1187
00:55:27,960 --> 00:55:30,333
10 plus years, you know?

1188
00:55:31,530 --> 00:55:35,598
And we will let, to be noted, you know,

1189
00:55:35,640 --> 00:55:40,338
that the estimated amount of
what was going to be needed

1190
00:55:40,380 --> 00:55:42,228
to fix Jackson's water infrastructure

1191
00:55:42,270 --> 00:55:44,928
is already probably at that point.

1192
00:55:44,970 --> 00:55:47,598
So there's gotta be another round of struggling

1193
00:55:47,640 --> 00:55:52,068
for more resources to fix
Jackson's water infrastructure.

1194
00:55:52,110 --> 00:55:55,278
So this one year, two year fix is not gonna happen.

1195
00:55:55,320 --> 00:55:59,808
It's gonna be like 10 to 20
years, right, to fix this water.

1196
00:55:59,850 --> 00:56:02,268
And the goal is to get it stable

1197
00:56:02,310 --> 00:56:04,848
and to keep it clean and safe.

1198
00:56:04,890 --> 00:56:06,408
And we can deal with it,

1199
00:56:06,450 --> 00:56:08,478
navigate through the other challenges.

1200
00:56:08,520 --> 00:56:11,328
And so this is going to
require not only the cooperation

1201
00:56:11,370 --> 00:56:13,248
of the state, but the federal government

1202
00:56:13,290 --> 00:56:16,014
in order to see a long-term fix.

1203
00:56:16,056 --> 00:56:18,108
And that's what I would say.

1204
00:56:18,150 --> 00:56:21,798
I would say that I see this as a moment that I,

1205
00:56:21,840 --> 00:56:24,048
you know, in terms of the support that we're getting,

1206
00:56:24,090 --> 00:56:27,948
a moment that I embrace and I'm prayerful, you know.

1207
00:56:27,990 --> 00:56:29,988
My position requires optimism, right?

1208
00:56:30,030 --> 00:56:33,573
And so I'm optimistic that
we'll be able to restore that.

1209
00:56:34,439 --> 00:56:38,658
There have been so many residents

1210
00:56:38,700 --> 00:56:41,268
who've been very frustrated at the fact that

1211
00:56:41,310 --> 00:56:45,438
they've been told that it was okay to consume water,

1212
00:56:45,480 --> 00:56:48,783
probably as black as the shirt that you have on, right?

1213
00:56:49,680 --> 00:56:52,788
Individuals who have had
water to come into their homes,

1214
00:56:52,830 --> 00:56:57,043
oily water, water with particles coming out,

1215
00:57:01,080 --> 00:57:04,743
dirt coming out of tap,

1216
00:57:07,260 --> 00:57:10,098
water that had sulfur smell to it.

1217
00:57:10,140 --> 00:57:12,468
You know, just to tell residents

1218
00:57:12,510 --> 00:57:16,083
that it was okay to drink that kind of water.

1219
00:57:17,340 --> 00:57:19,728
I've been lashed out at, right,

1220
00:57:19,770 --> 00:57:21,468
and I'm not a government official.

1221
00:57:21,510 --> 00:57:23,058
I don't work for the city of Jackson.

1222
00:57:23,100 --> 00:57:26,538
I don't work for the state or the federal government.

1223
00:57:26,580 --> 00:57:30,798
My job is only to provide humanitarian assistance

1224
00:57:30,840 --> 00:57:31,818
to the community.

1225
00:57:31,860 --> 00:57:36,558
Our governor has made no, you know, thought about it,

1226
00:57:36,600 --> 00:57:38,400
that he does not care for our mayor.

1227
00:57:40,320 --> 00:57:42,828
The previous governor, you know, dealt with

1228
00:57:42,870 --> 00:57:46,113
the previous mayor at arms length when he had to.

1229
00:57:48,750 --> 00:57:50,958
We have had governors before.

1230
00:57:51,000 --> 00:57:53,313
They've worked well with the city leadership.

1231
00:57:55,650 --> 00:57:58,053
Those were different governors.

1232
00:57:59,970 --> 00:58:02,298
Even though we had those governors at those times,

1233
00:58:02,340 --> 00:58:06,558
that is not the majority of the state legislature.

1234
00:58:06,600 --> 00:58:09,348
So while your governor may have been one way,

1235
00:58:09,390 --> 00:58:12,675
our representatives and our
state senators voted the other.

1236
00:58:12,717 --> 00:58:16,338
And so we still weren't able
to do all the things I think

1237
00:58:16,380 --> 00:58:19,488
that were necessary for the city to get everything

1238
00:58:19,530 --> 00:58:21,468
that it needed or to move everything forward.

1239
00:58:21,510 --> 00:58:23,718
And what you will find is that you have individuals

1240
00:58:23,760 --> 00:58:26,808
who place profit over people.

1241
00:58:26,850 --> 00:58:31,390
And so they no longer care about sanctity of life

1242
00:58:32,310 --> 00:58:34,158
as Mississippi proclaims itself

1243
00:58:34,200 --> 00:58:37,218
to be a pro-life state, right?

1244
00:58:37,260 --> 00:58:40,188
You would protect an unborn,

1245
00:58:40,230 --> 00:58:44,493
but here you have 160,000 plus residents,

1246
00:58:47,100 --> 00:58:51,213
majority of your consumer
base, predominantly black.

1247
00:58:53,520 --> 00:58:55,630
And you wanna push the narrative that

1248
00:58:56,910 --> 00:58:58,998
there's been a mistake made,

1249
00:58:59,040 --> 00:59:01,323
that E. coli really isn't in the water.

1250
00:59:02,160 --> 00:59:03,828
When at that particular time,

1251
00:59:03,870 --> 00:59:05,853
folks were getting sick with viruses.

1252
00:59:07,950 --> 00:59:11,223
Hospitals were full, not just from flu.

1253
00:59:13,230 --> 00:59:17,178
But in this county and the doctors said that

1254
00:59:17,220 --> 00:59:19,383
it was a 24-hour virus going on.

1255
00:59:20,550 --> 00:59:22,000
Could it have been the water?

1256
00:59:24,120 --> 00:59:26,958
Could it have been this E. coli water

1257
00:59:27,000 --> 00:59:31,188
that was being used in restaurants to cook food

1258
00:59:31,230 --> 00:59:32,643
that made the people sick?

1259
00:59:34,500 --> 00:59:38,200
My job and my goal is to connect the dots

1260
00:59:39,990 --> 00:59:44,990
to how deadly and how sickly
this water can really make you.

1261
00:59:47,250 --> 00:59:50,643
It has been proven to make you sick in Flint, Michigan,

1262
00:59:51,690 --> 00:59:55,848
in Benton Harbor, in Texas.

1263
00:59:55,890 --> 00:59:57,348
You have bad water in Louisiana.

1264
00:59:57,390 --> 01:00:01,548
You have bad water all across this country.

1265
01:00:01,590 --> 01:00:04,878
But yet majority, a lot of the southern states

1266
01:00:04,920 --> 01:00:08,448
are dealing with what Jackson,
Mississippi is dealing with

1267
01:00:08,490 --> 01:00:10,368
and it's not being talked about.

1268
01:00:10,410 --> 01:00:12,558
We have to make certain it's a sustained effort.

1269
01:00:12,600 --> 01:00:15,018
We have to make certain that everybody understands

1270
01:00:15,060 --> 01:00:16,998
that the residents of Jackson are worthy

1271
01:00:17,040 --> 01:00:18,588
of a dependable system.

1272
01:00:18,630 --> 01:00:21,198
They're worthy of consistency, they're worthy

1273
01:00:21,240 --> 01:00:24,318
to not be humiliated in these type of ways

1274
01:00:24,360 --> 01:00:25,968
with our water system itself.

1275
01:00:26,010 --> 01:00:28,578
We're gonna continue to push the envelope on this.

1276
01:00:28,620 --> 01:00:31,278
We're gonna not always restore water

1277
01:00:31,320 --> 01:00:32,748
for the immediate future.

1278
01:00:32,790 --> 01:00:35,118
We're gonna make certain
that everybody understands

1279
01:00:35,160 --> 01:00:37,818
that we're gonna work towards a permanent solution.

1280
01:00:37,860 --> 01:00:40,638
Clean water plays a major role

1281
01:00:40,680 --> 01:00:45,680
in our environmental movement here in Mississippi,

1282
01:00:45,750 --> 01:00:47,988
particularly here in Jackson,

1283
01:00:48,030 --> 01:00:52,758
where for years and years we have fought

1284
01:00:52,800 --> 01:00:56,208
to have clean water here in the city of Jackson

1285
01:00:56,250 --> 01:01:01,250
and have fought to get new
pipes for our neighborhoods

1286
01:01:01,320 --> 01:01:06,320
and have fought to get the
state to allocate resources

1287
01:01:06,930 --> 01:01:09,760
through state funds and through federal funds

1288
01:01:10,830 --> 01:01:15,830
to get a whole new system
here in Jackson, Mississippi.

1289
01:01:16,050 --> 01:01:16,841
Yeah.

1290
01:01:16,883 --> 01:01:20,298
You know, since 1997, I can't remember a black mayor

1291
01:01:20,340 --> 01:01:22,458
in Jackson not requesting support

1292
01:01:22,500 --> 01:01:24,258
for watering infrastructure.

1293
01:01:24,300 --> 01:01:27,228
I cannot remember a time when they have not,

1294
01:01:27,270 --> 01:01:29,905
our municipal leadership has not said,

1295
01:01:29,947 --> 01:01:31,788
"Listen, we need some help with this,"

1296
01:01:31,830 --> 01:01:35,358
and have not tried to put
band-aids on the problem, right?

1297
01:01:35,400 --> 01:01:38,118
So when I think about the
water infrastructure issue,

1298
01:01:38,160 --> 01:01:40,068
it's not one that I can put blame on

1299
01:01:40,110 --> 01:01:43,428
the city necessarily for
because I've seen the city try,

1300
01:01:43,470 --> 01:01:45,198
not only in this administration,

1301
01:01:45,240 --> 01:01:47,238
but I've seen efforts in the past.

1302
01:01:47,280 --> 01:01:49,338
I think this administration has had

1303
01:01:49,380 --> 01:01:52,368
some more critical problems and so had to make

1304
01:01:52,410 --> 01:01:55,608
some serious investments and push even harder.

1305
01:01:55,650 --> 01:01:57,528
But I haven't seen a time

1306
01:01:57,570 --> 01:01:59,388
when it wasn't something that was asked.

1307
01:01:59,430 --> 01:02:03,678
And I remember in 2020 when the city combined with

1308
01:02:03,720 --> 01:02:06,348
a few other cities put forth legislation

1309
01:02:06,390 --> 01:02:08,118
to fix water infrastructure,

1310
01:02:08,160 --> 01:02:11,838
legislation that was for
investment in water infrastructure.

1311
01:02:11,880 --> 01:02:14,298
It was passed by the state legislature,

1312
01:02:14,340 --> 01:02:16,158
but then the governor vetoed it.

1313
01:02:16,200 --> 01:02:18,138
This was the same year that we saw

1314
01:02:18,180 --> 01:02:20,808
our state flag change, right?

1315
01:02:20,850 --> 01:02:24,828
And we saw everything outside of that be vetoed.

1316
01:02:24,870 --> 01:02:27,438
And it was so frustrating

1317
01:02:27,480 --> 01:02:32,358
to see our state government say that,

1318
01:02:32,400 --> 01:02:35,260
you know, this was just something that happened

1319
01:02:36,300 --> 01:02:41,300
at the moment that year when
we knew that this was something

1320
01:02:41,820 --> 01:02:44,388
that was years in the making.

1321
01:02:44,430 --> 01:02:47,298
Because I remember as a teenager

1322
01:02:47,340 --> 01:02:52,320
growing up in Jackson, boil water notices in the '90s.

1323
01:02:53,160 --> 01:02:55,788
So this wasn't a new problem.

1324
01:02:55,830 --> 01:02:58,398
And this was something that could have been fixed

1325
01:02:58,440 --> 01:03:00,558
30 years ago.

1326
01:03:00,600 --> 01:03:04,758
And for our state government to spend

1327
01:03:04,800 --> 01:03:08,418
that much time pointing
fingers instead of coming up

1328
01:03:08,460 --> 01:03:12,078
with solutions was very, very disappointing,

1329
01:03:12,120 --> 01:03:17,120
but it was a very, very sad
and disappointing time that,

1330
01:03:17,550 --> 01:03:20,388
you know, people would use that time to say

1331
01:03:20,430 --> 01:03:24,888
this is because of black
leadership that this is happening.

1332
01:03:24,930 --> 01:03:26,988
Instead of saying this is something

1333
01:03:27,030 --> 01:03:28,878
that we could have fixed years ago

1334
01:03:28,920 --> 01:03:30,498
and we really need to make sure

1335
01:03:30,540 --> 01:03:34,068
that those people have clean and safe water.

1336
01:03:34,110 --> 01:03:38,538
The state of Mississippi
has kept our local government,

1337
01:03:38,580 --> 01:03:41,853
our city leadership, they cut us out,

1338
01:03:43,770 --> 01:03:48,770
and only work together when
it is, I think, required maybe

1339
01:03:49,080 --> 01:03:50,748
is the word I'm looking for.

1340
01:03:50,790 --> 01:03:53,298
Like if there's a natural disaster.

1341
01:03:53,340 --> 01:03:56,703
And so you have to be in the
same space and work together.

1342
01:03:58,830 --> 01:04:03,528
Our governor has made no, you know, bones about it

1343
01:04:03,570 --> 01:04:05,658
that he does not care for our mayor.

1344
01:04:05,700 --> 01:04:07,758
Instead of saying this is something

1345
01:04:07,800 --> 01:04:09,588
that we could have fixed years ago

1346
01:04:09,630 --> 01:04:12,468
and we really need to make sure that those people

1347
01:04:12,510 --> 01:04:14,981
have clean and safe water.

1348
01:04:15,023 --> 01:04:20,023
I think that any city that has black leadership,

1349
01:04:21,600 --> 01:04:25,638
there's also a problem with taking responsibility,

1350
01:04:25,680 --> 01:04:30,168
with providing those needed services

1351
01:04:30,210 --> 01:04:33,498
and providing those resources to cities

1352
01:04:33,540 --> 01:04:36,198
that are run by black-elected officials.

1353
01:04:36,240 --> 01:04:38,748
And we've seen that across the board

1354
01:04:38,790 --> 01:04:42,318
in Jackson over the years
with water infrastructure,

1355
01:04:42,360 --> 01:04:47,213
with public schools, and with every sort of agency

1356
01:04:48,420 --> 01:04:50,148
here in the city of Jackson,

1357
01:04:50,190 --> 01:04:52,425
but especially our infrastructure.

1358
01:04:52,467 --> 01:04:54,378
And so those are the major things

1359
01:04:54,420 --> 01:04:57,438
that we've seen our state government,

1360
01:04:57,480 --> 01:04:59,898
just lack of the empathy

1361
01:04:59,940 --> 01:05:03,108
and lack the responsibility to take care of.

1362
01:05:03,150 --> 01:05:05,748
And we know that there are resources

1363
01:05:05,790 --> 01:05:10,638
in the federal government
that have been sitting there

1364
01:05:10,680 --> 01:05:13,908
for cities like Jackson to take advantage of,

1365
01:05:13,950 --> 01:05:17,838
and we have to continue to fight, fight, fight

1366
01:05:17,880 --> 01:05:20,178
for those resources for Jackson

1367
01:05:20,220 --> 01:05:24,858
because our state has said,
until there's new leadership,

1368
01:05:24,900 --> 01:05:29,508
which from our understanding, it seems to me

1369
01:05:29,550 --> 01:05:32,283
when there's no longer black leadership,

1370
01:05:33,750 --> 01:05:36,258
our state will not allow those resources

1371
01:05:36,300 --> 01:05:38,268
to come into the city of Jackson.

1372
01:05:38,310 --> 01:05:43,310
So it really, really took the
community bonding together

1373
01:05:43,650 --> 01:05:47,868
and coming together to make
sure that there was no citizen

1374
01:05:47,910 --> 01:05:52,308
that was left out and that every citizen had access

1375
01:05:52,350 --> 01:05:55,488
and understood that we had to come together

1376
01:05:55,530 --> 01:06:00,530
to make sure every citizen that had a need

1377
01:06:00,750 --> 01:06:02,608
to make sure that their need was met.

1378
01:06:02,650 --> 01:06:04,398
Yeah, as I said earlier,

1379
01:06:04,440 --> 01:06:07,008
my response to that is unchanged, right?

1380
01:06:07,050 --> 01:06:11,058
You know, we've made it very
clear that we needed support,

1381
01:06:11,100 --> 01:06:12,918
that we need support.

1382
01:06:12,960 --> 01:06:14,958
And so that remains the position

1383
01:06:15,000 --> 01:06:19,128
and we've, you know, drafted different efforts

1384
01:06:19,170 --> 01:06:22,579
to accomplish that feat and
so we will continue to do that.

1385
01:06:22,621 --> 01:06:23,508
Right now in this moment

1386
01:06:23,550 --> 01:06:25,248
as we've been asking for that assistance,

1387
01:06:25,290 --> 01:06:26,940
asking for that help than we have

1388
01:06:28,560 --> 01:06:30,708
more assistance than we've had,

1389
01:06:30,750 --> 01:06:32,898
Then we continue to lift that up and appreciate it.

1390
01:06:32,940 --> 01:06:34,398
You know, I think there are many reasons.

1391
01:06:34,440 --> 01:06:37,608
I think that the most obvious for me

1392
01:06:37,650 --> 01:06:40,728
and in my opinion based on my years of growing up here,

1393
01:06:40,770 --> 01:06:43,908
being here, is that it's a race issue, right?

1394
01:06:43,950 --> 01:06:46,818
Racial equity and justice is a problem, right?

1395
01:06:46,860 --> 01:06:48,558
And so I think that's one.

1396
01:06:48,600 --> 01:06:50,748
Jackson is a predominantly black city.

1397
01:06:50,790 --> 01:06:53,898
Since 1997, we've had black leadership,

1398
01:06:53,940 --> 01:06:55,578
and every year since then,

1399
01:06:55,620 --> 01:06:59,298
we've seen a decrease in state funding to this city.

1400
01:06:59,340 --> 01:07:01,248
And that's no coincidence.

1401
01:07:01,290 --> 01:07:04,218
If there is a common denominator, that is,

1402
01:07:04,260 --> 01:07:06,108
once we had black leadership,

1403
01:07:06,150 --> 01:07:08,988
the money began to dwindle away

1404
01:07:09,030 --> 01:07:11,148
from being funded by the state

1405
01:07:11,190 --> 01:07:14,988
to receiving very little over a period of time.

1406
01:07:15,030 --> 01:07:17,985
But I also think that the other issue,

1407
01:07:18,027 --> 01:07:21,168
and I think it affects Jackson, but this whole state

1408
01:07:21,210 --> 01:07:24,528
is the reality that our state government

1409
01:07:24,570 --> 01:07:26,658
does not understand the importance,

1410
01:07:26,700 --> 01:07:29,958
does not respect climate and climate change,

1411
01:07:30,000 --> 01:07:32,748
and does not understand that infrastructure

1412
01:07:32,790 --> 01:07:34,938
just like you care about your home

1413
01:07:34,980 --> 01:07:38,508
and you wanna ensure that
your home's foundation is solid.

1414
01:07:38,550 --> 01:07:42,528
You have to see that for
the city and for all your cities.

1415
01:07:42,570 --> 01:07:44,598
Infrastructure, our roads matter,

1416
01:07:44,640 --> 01:07:49,128
our pipes matter, maintaining
basic water systems matter.

1417
01:07:49,170 --> 01:07:52,788
And I don't think that it
mattered to them enough, right,

1418
01:07:52,830 --> 01:07:56,688
to really dedicate the funding
towards fixing these issues

1419
01:07:56,730 --> 01:08:01,730
before it became so bad that now we're all rushing

1420
01:08:01,920 --> 01:08:06,475
to catch up to be healthy, to be in a better place, so.

1421
01:08:06,517 --> 01:08:09,273
So there are a number of things.

1422
01:08:10,920 --> 01:08:15,920
I think Jackson being over 80% black,

1423
01:08:16,410 --> 01:08:17,913
you can see it firsthand.

1424
01:08:19,470 --> 01:08:21,768
Many of our neighborhoods, you know,

1425
01:08:21,810 --> 01:08:26,613
the roads are torn up due to infrastructure failure.

1426
01:08:27,750 --> 01:08:30,138
Trash is everywhere.

1427
01:08:30,180 --> 01:08:35,180
You know, we deal with the brought of the creeks

1428
01:08:36,000 --> 01:08:39,633
that have garbage and pollution in them.

1429
01:08:41,550 --> 01:08:43,248
The whole world knows now that

1430
01:08:43,290 --> 01:08:45,888
the water in Jackson wasn't safe.

1431
01:08:45,930 --> 01:08:47,793
It hasn't been safe for a long time.

1432
01:08:48,990 --> 01:08:53,478
And I know that we are not unique in these struggles.

1433
01:08:53,520 --> 01:08:56,868
There are rural communities,

1434
01:08:56,910 --> 01:08:59,178
predominantly black communities

1435
01:08:59,220 --> 01:09:01,428
and communities of color all over the United States

1436
01:09:01,470 --> 01:09:02,928
and all over the world that are dealing with

1437
01:09:02,970 --> 01:09:04,488
some of the same things.

1438
01:09:04,530 --> 01:09:09,530
I do know that in a state that has not supported

1439
01:09:11,160 --> 01:09:16,160
education and healthcare
and a number of other things

1440
01:09:17,850 --> 01:09:21,093
that when you pile on environmental racism,

1441
01:09:23,070 --> 01:09:25,173
it can cause disastrous consequences.

1442
01:09:26,130 --> 01:09:28,668
Everything is processed in time,

1443
01:09:28,710 --> 01:09:31,578
but sometimes process don't move fast enough.

1444
01:09:31,620 --> 01:09:34,308
And you know, what we've seen here is constant failure,

1445
01:09:34,350 --> 01:09:35,778
you know, no matter where we look.

1446
01:09:35,820 --> 01:09:37,638
The federal government I think did its part.

1447
01:09:37,680 --> 01:09:39,348
It made sure the funds were here.

1448
01:09:39,390 --> 01:09:41,418
The state government has to do its part though

1449
01:09:41,460 --> 01:09:43,368
to ensure that that money reaches the community

1450
01:09:43,410 --> 01:09:44,868
that needs it and deserves it,

1451
01:09:44,910 --> 01:09:47,748
that it has been allocated for, right?

1452
01:09:47,790 --> 01:09:50,568
You know, for the longest time, you know,

1453
01:09:50,610 --> 01:09:54,378
Jackson has kind of been a
stepchild, if you will, right,

1454
01:09:54,420 --> 01:09:57,588
of the tri-state area, and it's the capital city.

1455
01:09:57,630 --> 01:10:00,378
And one can only to resolve in that fact

1456
01:10:00,420 --> 01:10:02,148
in because it's the blackest city

1457
01:10:02,190 --> 01:10:03,471
here in the state of Mississippi.

1458
01:10:03,513 --> 01:10:06,648
It's in the blackest county in Mississippi.

1459
01:10:06,690 --> 01:10:10,128
Jackson has a 83% African-American population.

1460
01:10:10,170 --> 01:10:14,508
Hinds County has a 64% African-American population.

1461
01:10:14,550 --> 01:10:16,788
And yet the people who are making decisions

1462
01:10:16,830 --> 01:10:19,968
about the quality of life at Hinds County in Jackson

1463
01:10:20,010 --> 01:10:21,768
don't look like the majority of the people

1464
01:10:21,810 --> 01:10:23,628
who live in this city, and that's a problem.

1465
01:10:23,670 --> 01:10:26,478
And it's not necessarily just about what happens

1466
01:10:26,520 --> 01:10:31,520
with that state leadership
and in our city-elected leaders.

1467
01:10:32,310 --> 01:10:36,618
I mean, we had great, wonderful projects

1468
01:10:36,660 --> 01:10:37,938
that were about to be pushed through.

1469
01:10:37,980 --> 01:10:39,228
Was it two years ago?

1470
01:10:39,270 --> 01:10:42,270
And he vetoed, our governor
vetoed every single one of them.

1471
01:10:43,140 --> 01:10:47,208
That would've brought
millions upon millions of dollars

1472
01:10:47,250 --> 01:10:51,618
to this city because Jackson needs to get

1473
01:10:51,660 --> 01:10:54,783
its water under control and its crime under control.

1474
01:10:58,020 --> 01:11:01,188
Money, which is what would've been generated

1475
01:11:01,230 --> 01:11:04,218
by those wonderful projects
that those people spent

1476
01:11:04,260 --> 01:11:06,213
hours and hours and hours developing,

1477
01:11:07,140 --> 01:11:11,508
can help combat both of those two issues,

1478
01:11:11,550 --> 01:11:12,513
and he vetoed them.

1479
01:11:16,290 --> 01:11:17,823
So yeah.

1480
01:11:19,350 --> 01:11:22,608
I'm waiting for these next few years to be over with

1481
01:11:22,650 --> 01:11:24,198
so we can elect a new governor.

1482
01:11:24,240 --> 01:11:28,008
Well, you know, being a daughter of Mississippi soil,

1483
01:11:28,050 --> 01:11:30,378
you can't survive here if you don't have hope.

1484
01:11:30,420 --> 01:11:33,888
And it is the hope that comes from everyday people

1485
01:11:33,930 --> 01:11:37,218
that make it possible for me to do the work that I do.

1486
01:11:37,260 --> 01:11:41,222
It is that sense of resilience, the tenacity, you know,

1487
01:11:41,264 --> 01:11:42,768
the optimism that we still have.

1488
01:11:42,810 --> 01:11:44,808
We can't lose hope, 'cause if you do that,

1489
01:11:44,850 --> 01:11:46,663
then we might as well die, right?

1490
01:11:46,705 --> 01:11:48,603
And in Mississippi, we never say die.

1491
01:11:49,478 --> 01:11:54,478
♪ In a world where lies divide ♪

1492
01:11:54,925 --> 01:11:59,925
♪ Sometimes you have to face the tide ♪

1493
01:12:00,916 --> 01:12:05,916
♪ Where rivers run with tainted streams ♪

1494
01:12:06,965 --> 01:12:11,965
♪ Justice emerge from shattered dreams ♪

1495
01:12:12,873 --> 01:12:16,020
♪ So we raise our voices ♪

1496
01:12:16,062 --> 01:12:19,073
♪ And the men change ♪

1497
01:12:19,115 --> 01:12:22,043
♪ So no more fighting ♪

1498
01:12:22,085 --> 01:12:25,521
♪ And no more pain ♪

1499
01:12:25,563 --> 01:12:30,563
♪ Can you hear the cries in the air ♪

1500
01:12:31,526 --> 01:12:36,167
♪ A battle for justice that we can't bear ♪

1501
01:12:36,209 --> 01:12:37,572
♪ We can't bear ♪

1502
01:12:37,614 --> 01:12:42,614
♪ Poisoned water, a silent fight ♪

1503
01:12:43,281 --> 01:12:48,281
♪ In this unfair world, we seek what's right, oh, whoa ♪

1504
01:12:50,381 --> 01:12:55,381
♪ We stand united, oh ♪

1505
01:12:56,269 --> 01:13:01,269
♪ For justice, we fight, mm ♪

1506
01:13:02,512 --> 01:13:07,512
♪ To heal the waters, oh ♪

1507
01:13:08,204 --> 01:13:13,204
♪ And bring back the light, mm ♪

1508
01:13:13,861 --> 01:13:18,861
♪ Raise your voice ♪

1509
01:13:19,549 --> 01:13:22,526
♪ To heal the waters ♪

1510
01:13:22,568 --> 01:13:25,825
♪ To heal the waters ♪

1511
01:13:25,867 --> 01:13:30,867
♪ Can you hear the cries in the air ♪

1512
01:13:31,813 --> 01:13:36,461
♪ A battle for justice that we can't bear ♪

1513
01:13:36,503 --> 01:13:37,840
♪ We can't bear ♪

1514
01:13:37,882 --> 01:13:42,882
♪ Poisoned water, a silent fight ♪

1515
01:13:43,805 --> 01:13:48,805
♪ In this unfair world, we seek what's right, oh, whoa ♪

1516
01:13:52,331 --> 01:13:54,947
♪ Mm ♪

1517
01:13:54,989 --> 01:13:58,572
♪ We seek what's right, mm ♪