The Flint Water Crisis and the Perpetuation of Environmental Racism in Flint, Michigan (2014–2018)

Abstract

The nexus between environmental racism and racial capitalism has been well documented. However, the government is often blamed for the perpetuation of some forms of environmental racism. Nonetheless, blaming the government for environmental racism without documenting some actions and policy implementation by the government to mitigate or prevent the re-occurrence of environmental racism tends to be a one-sided view. Consequently, this study examines how the American government plays some roles in the occurrence of environmental racism, that is, the Flint Water Crisis (FWC) in Michigan. Racial capitalism theory is used as a theoretical lens in this study. Racial capitalism, historical residential housing policies, anti-blackness or devaluation of Black bodies, the appointment of Emergency Financial Managers, environmental racism, neoliberalism, laissez-faire, and color-blind racism were the mechanisms driving the occurrence of the FWC. The different actions and policies that were taken by the American government to mitigate or prevent the re-emergence of FWC were also documented. Although, these actions were taken after the occurrence of the FWC. The materials-based method (secondary data) was not only adopted to provide answers to the research question that this study answered but was also used to explain the global dynamic and operation of racial capitalism.