Mississippi activists ask to join water lawsuit and criticize Black judge's comments on race
Activists in Mississippi’s majority-Black capital city are trying to join a federal lawsuit against the city for violating standards for clean drinking water
JACKSON, Miss. — Activists in Mississippi’s majority-Black capital city are trying to join a federal lawsuit against the city for violating standards for clean drinking water, even as they say the Black judge presiding over the case is stirring racial division.
The activists from the Mississippi Poor People’s Campaign and People’s Advocacy Institute filed court papers Wednesday asking to intervene in the federal government’s lawsuit against Jackson. During a news conference Wednesday, activists said they spoke for residents in the 80% Black city who want more say over reforms to the water system.
“We feel like our lives are on the chopping block here in the city of Jackson," said Danyelle Holmes, an organizer with the Mississippi Poor People’s Campaign. «We could no longer sit by idly as government agencies allow residents to be told that it's OK to drink unclean water.”
The federal government has taken legal steps to scrutinize Jackson’s water quality for over a decade. But in November, the Justice Department accelerated its involvement after breakdowns in Jackson caused many in the city of about 150,000 residents to go days and weeks without safe running water. Last August and September, people waited in lines for water to drink, bathe, flush toilets and cook.
U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate appointed Ted Henifin, who had decades of experience running water systems in other states, to help fix Jackson's long-troubled water system. Henifin began working on several projects to improve the water infrastructure, such as repairing broken water lines and a plan to
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