500 signatures reached
To: Stephen McCraney, Executive Director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA)
#Thirst4Justice: Call on MEMA to Validate the Water Crisis For Valuable Recovery Funding!
MEMA’s slow response to the winter storms is a gross administrative failure . The impact of the water outages is further compounded by the global pandemic. Access to clean water is not a privilege, but a right -- and a matter of life and death. Tell MEMA Executive Director, Stephen McCraney to assess the damage in Jackson in order to repair Jackson’s crippled water infrastructure. The Jackson Water crisis has impacted more than 40,000 Black people. To ensure that our people are protected we demand that MEMA Executive Director Stephen Mcraney prioritize infrastructure assessments and provide a comprehensive plan to ensure that this doesn’t happen again by:
We demand:
1. McCraney to immediately speed up MEMA’s process of assessing Jackson’s water system damage to help secure federal funding, while providing continuous water testing.
2. MEMA to provide on the ground support to Jackson residents that help in community recovery --beyond the 100,000 bottles of water provided.
3. Create a comprehensive infrastructure improvement plan and involve community members and organizations in the process. This plan must be done without the threat of a state-takeover of Jackson’s systems and resources.
Why is this important?
For the past five weeks, I have endured the water crisis. Jackson is over 80% Black and we went without vital water access for weeks. While white folks in other counties had running water in their homes, I watched the direct impact that neglect has had on my community. Jackson’s water crisis is not only a health problem and an environmental problem -- it’s undeniably a race problem.
Thousands of Black people have caught rain to flush the toilet and stacked cases of water to wash their hands and brush their teeth, while simultaneously trying to survive a global pandemic that disproportionately affects Black people. I’m starting this petition to ensure that my community gets the help they desperately need and deserve.
The city of Jackson has a history of being disenfranchised in Mississippi. This isn’t the first time that we’ve been overlooked, and we need action. Join me in telling Stephen McCraney to do right by Jackson. My community demands continuous water testing to assess whether it is safe for consumption, proper damage assessments, and a long term plan in ensuring that water consumption is safe without the threat of a state takeover of the Jackson community.
Stephen McCraney is the Executive Director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and he has the power to speed up the process of assessing the damage to Jackson’s water system. Speeding up the process will secure important federal funding for our water systems recovery and help my community heal together.
Sign this petition and tell McCraney to prioritize damage assessments in Jackson while providing resources that restore trust for Black Mississippians now!