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Cascading issues with the water supply in some of America’s Blackest cities are demonstrating the downstream effects of years of neglect.
Three cities in particular have been plagued with water issues lately that highlight inequality in how the public coffers are used.
In Jackson, Mississippi, residents had already been placed on a boil-water notice for weeks before flooding last month overwhelmed a water treatment facility, leaving the city of more than 150,000 people largely without running water for a week. The city — the largest in Mississippi — is more than 82% Black.
Baltimore, which is more than 62% Black, has been hit with infrastructure-based water troubles, as well. Residents in West Baltimore have been under an advisory to only use boiled water since Monday after E. coli was found in their water supply.
And residents at the Jacob Riis Houses, one of the largest public housing complexes in New York City, were made aware their water supply contained traces of arsenic Friday. According to The City, a local news website, that notification came two weeks after the management first learned of the water’s toxicity. (A spokesperson for New York City Mayor Eric Adams' office told The City the water had previously tested positive for arsenic but claimed Riis management didn't confirm that result until Friday.)
It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly how many Black people live in the Jacob Riis projects. While roughly 23% of the city's population is Black, many of its public housing units are located in predominantly Black neighborhoods. And historically, the majority of the tenants are Black or Latino.
All this points to arguments activists have long made about racist power brokers diverting funds and other resources away from Black communities — and the suffering this causes Black residents.
It also speaks to a point the Biden administration has made about the racism embedded in America’s crumbling infrastructure. As they’re wont to do, Republicans expressed dismay over the claim. But it was true when the Biden administration first uttered it, and it’s become more apparent with the latest water issues in largely Black communities. And, as far as I’m concerned, a continued refusal to resolve these long-standing issues effectively proves intent in the deliberate poisoning of Black America.