Jackson Mayor Demands Help After Month of Water Crisis Amid Pandemic, Racism, Broken Infrastructure

Residents in Jackson, Mississippi, have been facing a water crisis over the last five weeks, with many people lacking reliable access to clean drinking water after deadly February winter storms caused pipes and water mains to burst. While water delivery has largely been restored, "boil water" orders remain in effect for most people. The city estimates it could cost $2 billion to fix the city’s water system.

The crisis in Jackson, which is 82 percent Black, highlights how climate catastrophe threatens much of the nation’s aging infrastructure. Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba says while the city "contributes millions of dollars" in tax revenue to Mississippi each year, state leaders have refused to help and left the city to deal with the crisis by itself.