Former Michigan Governor formally charged for poisoning thousands of predominantly Black Flint citizens with water containing lead.

In 2014, when the city of Flint was forced by the state to begin taking its water supply from the Flint river rather than using water from nearby Detroit as it had for decades before, citizens immediately noticed a difference. The water was cloudy and discolored and had an odd taste. Still, Governor Rick Snyder insisted the decision couldn’t be reversed — despite numerous objections from city leaders and public health officials — because the change was saving the state a significant amount of money. 

What Snyder’s disastrous decision didn’t account for was that the new supply of water was also being significantly under-treated in local processing plants and ended up corroding pipelines throughout the city, filling them with lead that leaked into the water and poisoned thousands of Flint’s predominantly Black and lower-income citizens.

Ultimately, 12 Flint residents died as a result of Snyder’s actions and although numbers aren’t known, the death toll is thought to be much higher. Equally alarming: children in Flint who were exposed to the water now face a lifetime of potential health challenges. (Children are especially susceptible to even small amounts of lead when their bodies are developing. It can lead to brain and nervous system damage; slower growth and development, learning and behavioral problems; and hearing and speech issues.)