Just last year, Carletta Davis had the ear of the White House. In July 2024, she traveled from her hometown of Prichard, Alabama, to Washington, D.C., to attend the Biden administration’s first environmental justice summit. It was a celebration of the nearly four years of work by the administration to propel forward on a federal […]
clean water
Posted inEnvironmental Justice
Michael Regan Rebuilt the EPA, but Did It Deliver for Black Communities?
When the Environmental Protection Agency dropped a civil rights investigation last year and subsequently weakened the civil rights complaint process, it dealt a blow to the legacy of the first Black man to lead the agency. This decision underscored the immense challenges the agency’s former head, Michael Regan, faced during his tenure, where the weight […]
Posted inClimate Change, Environmental Justice
New Fed Report Outlines the Unequal Burden of Climate Change
Athens, Alabama, isn’t unique – and that’s the issue. Streetlights are nonexistent, homes aren’t connected to the city’s sewage lines, and streets are poorly maintained. But in the town, which is the third-fastest growing in Alabama, residents say this reality disproportionately impacts Black people, contributing to residents being expected to live shorter lives than 94% […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Unsafe Water
Dirty Water, Distrust, and a Crisis
Black Americans struggling to live through a water crisis are urging the rest of the country to recast what is viewed as violence. “People just don’t get the big picture,” says Brooke Floyd, coordinator for the Jackson People’s Assembly, a social justice organization in Jackson, Mississippi. “There are a lot of things that are making […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Unsafe Water
Record Investment Merely Scratches the Surface of Fixing Black America’s Water Crisis
Gwendolyn Reed-Davis recalls living without running water during the holiday season last year, merely months after a water crisis left Jackson, Mississippi, residents struggling to bathe, cook, and flush their toilets. The mother of 12 says the city’s years-long struggle has harmed public health and threatened the development of a whole generation of children. Since […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Partner Content, Water Quality
Black and Hispanic Communities More Likely to Have Drinking Water with PFAS
This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here. Black and Hispanic communities are disproportionately exposed to “forever chemicals” in their drinking water, according to a first-of-its-kind study from Harvard University that said 18 million Americans are exposed to PFAS levels that exceed limits proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency. PFAS or, […]
Posted inEnvironmental Justice, Water Quality
Eight Years Later, Flint’s Water Crisis Rages On
The United States’ simmering water crisis boiled over in Flint, Michigan, in 2014. Eight years later, roughly 2,000 homes in the majority-Black city still don’t have clean drinking water. A recent internal audit by the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s watchdog found that the government agency, which is tasked with containing toxic contamination and pollution, hasn’t […]