Petition demands justice and accountability for victims of Flint water crisis

A civil rights organization launched a nationwide petition that calls the Flint water crisis a racist “crime against humanity” and demands justice and accountability.

The Michigan National Action Network petition comes eight years after Flint, under state emergency management, switched its drinking water supply to the Flint River to save money. The decision created one of the nation’s worst public health disasters in decades, contaminating drinking water with dangerous levels of lead.

Nine state and city officials, including former Gov. Rick Snyder, were charged for their role in the crisis in January 2021.

Several lawsuits also have been filed. In one civil case, Snyder and others are trying to avoid testifying because of the criminal case, the petition points out.

“As someone who has been following the ongoing trial closely, the evidence and testimony presented thus far only proves to me that the government officials in charge were aware of a dangerous lead problem in Flint’s water supply and failed to act — or to alert the people of Flint whose health was in peril,” Rev. Charles Williams II, chairman of the Michigan National Action Network, said in a statement. “It is a deep miscarriage of justice that the jury and the people of Flint are once again being fed incomplete and misleading information about what really happened to their water, all because those responsible are too afraid to tell the truth and admit it was their fault.”

The petition demands that public officials answer questions under oath. Without their testimony, the public is denied an explanation about what happened, the petition says.

“It is a miscarriage of justice that the jury and the people of Flint have yet to hear from the government officials responsible for switching the City’s water source and deceiving the public into believing their water was safe even when they knew it was not,” the petition states.

Williams said the Flint water crisis and the response to it are evidence that systemic racism still exists.

“Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom from the evils of slavery, but it is also a stark reminder that systemic racism remains a plague on our society,” Williams said. “For proof, look no further than Flint. Look no further than what has happened in the eight years since the crisis.”

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