Busboys Books Presents: Flint Fights Back Environmental Justice and Democracy in the Flint Water Crisis
Date and Time
Oct 15, 2019 6:00 pm
Location
450K
450 K St NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20001
Oct 15, 2019 6:00 pm
450K
An account of the Flint water crisis shows that Flint's struggle for safe and affordable water is part of a broader struggle for democracy.
When Flint, Michigan, changed its source of municipal water from Lake Huron to the Flint River, Flint residents were repeatedly assured that the water was of the highest quality. At the switchover ceremony, the mayor and other officials performed a celebratory toast, declaring “Here's to Flint!” and downing glasses of freshly treated water. But as we now know, the water coming out of residents' taps harbored a variety of contaminants, including high levels of lead. In Flint Fights Back, Benjamin Pauli examines the water crisis and the political activism that it inspired, arguing that Flint's struggle for safe and affordable water was part of a broader struggle for democracy. Pauli connects Flint's water activism with the ongoing movement protesting the state of Michigan's policy of replacing elected officials in financially troubled cities like Flint and Detroit with appointed “emergency managers.”
Pauli distinguishes the political narrative of the water crisis from the historical and technical narratives, showing that Flint activists' emphasis on democracy helped them to overcome some of the limitations of standard environmental justice frameworks. He discusses the pro-democracy (anti–emergency manager) movement and traces the rise of the “water warriors”; describes the uncompromising activist culture that developed out of the experience of being dismissed and disparaged by officials; and examines the interplay of activism and scientific expertise. Finally, he explores efforts by activists to expand the struggle for water justice and to organize newly mobilized residents into a movement for a radically democratic Flint.
Benjamin J. Pauli is Assistant Professor of Social Science at Kettering University in Flint, Michigan.
Hannah Donart holds a Master of Public Health, with a concentration in Environmental Health Science and Policy. For the past two years she has worked with community members, scientists, policy makers, and agency officials in Washington, DC, advocating for regulatory reform and health-based standards to better protect children attending DC public schools from lead in drinking water. She also led her children's School Improvement Team Environmental Health Committee during it's modernization project. In addition, she has published articles for the Collaborative on Health and the Environment and Union of Concerned Scientists, underscoring the need for more protective laws and regulations to prevent exposure to lead in school drinking water.
Yanna Lambrinidou, PhD, has lived in Washington, DC for 17 years and has been a lead-in-water activist since 2004. In 2014-2015, she served on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC) work group that was convened to issue recommendations for revisions to the federal Lead and Copper Rule (LCR). In 2016, she served as advisor to the Policy and Infrastructure subcommittees of Michigan Governor Rick Snyder's Flint Water Interagency Coordinating Committee (FWICC).
Paul Schwartz was the National Water Program Coordinator for Clean Water Action working with organizers and policy staff in 17 states. He now works with the Campaign for Lead Free Water supporting critical frontline work in DC and communities across America.
