The Anti-Democratic Forces Behind the Flint Water Crisis
The primarily Black residents of Flint might yet see justice.
The man who was Governor of Michigan when Flint, Michigan’s water became toxic to its residents, Rick Snyder, has been charged in the case. Justice may finally be served in the disaster, which has led to 12 deaths and dozens of illnesses and lead poisoning in the predominantly Black city. Yet, the racially-inspired, anti-democratic forces that lead to the outcome should not be forgotten, so we can make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Michigan’s law that allows the governor to appoint an emergency manager to oversee financially-challenged communities — a move that takes democratic control away from local voters — was passed in the early 1990s. It wasn’t used very often, but by 2009 more than half of the state’s Black voters lived in communities that were being governed by such unelected emergency managers.
When Republican Rick Snyder became Michigan’s Governor in 2011, one of the first laws that he signed was an expansion of the emergency manager authorities. The voters repealed it in 2012, but a new bill revised it.
As historian Nancy MacLean writes in Democracy In Chains, the powerful Koch-funded and -staffed Michigan-based Mackinac Center pushed hard for the legislation. The Center, which advances “the principles of free markets and limited government,” is part of the libertarian advocacy universe that promotes policies that protect capitalism over democracy.
Residents of MI’s majority-black cities recognize that the practice disenfranchises them, and violates the ethos of American democracy that supports local representation. “They also say emergency management gives influence to what [was] a mostly white, Republican leadership in Lansing… [T]hey worry that in their decisions, emergency managers are more concerned with fiscal discipline than public health.”
Indeed, the people of Flint noticed a public health problem with their water almost immediately after the unelected emergency management team switched their water source. But their concerns weren’t acknowledged by the state for over 18 months. In the meantime, Flint’s residents continued to be exposed to water with dangerously high levels of lead, which had led to long-term health issues, especially to its children, who are largely Black.
The impacts of a decision made by an anti-democratic force were disparately felt on a majority Black community have led to calls for justice and accountability. And until this week, those calls have not resulted in any action. That’s why these charges are such a big deal. Justice may soon be coming to the people of Flint.
So when some call the charges politically motivated because they include Republican officials, I say not doing so has been an example of systemic racism that has protected the officials that dispensed this disaster on the people of Flint. Justice for Black communities is #justice, not politics.
Sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/01/12/flint-water-crisis-rick-snyder/
https://www.michiganradio.org/post/how-did-we-get-here-look-back-michigans-emergency-manager-law
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/15/books/review/democracy-in-chains-nancy-maclean.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/23/us/anger-in-michigan-over-appointing-emergency-managers.html
http://www.tribtown.com/2021/01/14/ap-us-flint-water-timeline-2/
