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ZORA

A publication from Medium that centers the stories, poetry, essays and thoughts of women of color.

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How the Passive Voice Allowed Flint’s Water Crisis to Persist

3 min readJun 17, 2019

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Credit: Geoff Robins/Getty Images

Flint still doesn’t have clean water.

This statement has become a rallying cry, from city streets to social media. Yet it’s bothered me ever since I first heard it. Yes, it’s true that Flint’s water remains tainted and unsafe after five years. But the fact that we use the passive tense to talk about this travesty is the real outrage. Flint’s lack of safe, potable water isn’t the result of faulty infrastructure or a catastrophic accident at the water treatment plant. Government officials knowingly allowed poisons into the city’s water supply to cut costs. Active, evocative language that gets right to the ugly heart of things is necessary to tell the story and sound the clarion call.

“This was a crime committed against a city of 96,400 people to save $140 a day.”

When state and local officials decided to switch the source of Flint’s water supply from Lake Huron to the heavily polluted Flint River, they did not put in place a proper water treatment plan. Bacteria accumulated, and the disinfectants corroded the pipes, causing lead and other contaminants to leach into the water. When, almost…

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ZORA
ZORA

Published in ZORA

A publication from Medium that centers the stories, poetry, essays and thoughts of women of color.

Kitanya Harrison
Kitanya Harrison

Written by Kitanya Harrison

Upcoming essay collection: WELCOME TO THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE: NOTES ON COLLAPSE FROM THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC | Rep: Deirdre Mullane