Hundreds of Jacksonians Face Housing Displacement Due to Water Shutoffs
JACKSON, Misssissippi — Today, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) filed a federal complaint to prevent the state of Mississippi from misusing and withholding federal funds intended for the City of Jackson in its ongoing water crisis. Approved funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) were not allocated when the city needed it most to improve crumbling infrastructure and aging water system.
“The latest litigation comes as part of SPLC’s years-long efforts to ensure ARPA Funds sent to Mississippi in 2021 are made available to Jackson without the state throwing up discriminatory roadblocks. We are pursuing an Equal Protection Claim alleging the Defendants are acting under color of law to intentionally discriminate against Black Jackson residents in violation of the 14th Amendment,” said Crystal McElrath, senior supervising attorney, SPLC. “Jackson citizens’ daily life has forever changed since the water crisis began in 2022. Hundreds of Black Jacksonians are being displaced from their housing due to water shutoffs and expensive water bills which are not their responsibility. Decades of neglect, policy failures and blatant discrimination have led to one of the most catastrophic — yet preventable — environmental disasters in this nation’s history. The people of Jackson, like all Americans, deserve safe, clean drinking water and equal protection under the law.”
The Jackson water crisis did not occur over night. Since the 1990s, the population shifted from a white majority to a predominately Black city. Poverty rose to nearly 50% for all residents, Black poverty tripled, and infrastructure went underfunded in that timespan. For nearly three decades, Jackson asked for state assistance to repair its water system and was denied at every turn.
In April 2021, Mississippi received $450 million of ARPA funds, with wide discretion to use for water and sewer infrastructure, or for relocation assistance for displaced individuals and businesses, among other things. The state then created a grant competition, which revealed clear biases against Jackson because the competition created financial guidelines the state knew Jackson could not meet. For example, Jackson’s receipt of ARPA funds came per a matching requirement which later was waived for the majority of applicants. The state calculated the amount of assistance Jackson could receive based primarily on the amount of assistance Jackson could provide for itself, instead of basing assistance on the amount of need.
Despite numerous requests outlining the need for hundreds of millions and even billions of dollars in water infrastructure funds, Jackson was awarded $35.6 million in matching funds. Then, the awarded funds were held by the Mississippi State Treasury with no clear guidance as to how the city would go about obtaining those held funds. No other city in the state had its ARPA award withheld. To date, the city of Jackson has not received the $35.6million in ARPA funds promised three years ago.
“Despite warnings as early as 2020, Mississippi failed to act when residents in Jackson needed them most,” said Waikinya Clanton, Mississippi state director, SPLC. “It is unfortunate to witness entire families go without clean drinking water, watch muddy water flow freely from faucets and rely heavily on the bottled water to just carry out routine tasks. The early days of the crisis was a time of extreme need that went unmet by policymakers. However, it was also a time of great resolve. Communities rallied to each other’s aid. Organizations provided assistance delivering bottled water and other necessities to those in need. But there is so much more to be done: Jacksonians need relief.”
The full complaint is available here.
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About the Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people. For more information, visit www.splcenter.org.