U.S : DETROIT needs to replace the school pipes now !

Tell Gov. Snyder and Mayor Duggan to act on behalf of the people in Detroit and repair lead and copper pipe poisoning water in Detroit schools. Tell Gov. Snyder and Mayor Duggan to protect Black students from lead and copper poisoning.

Dear friend,

As Black families in Flint, Michigan are still calling for action after years of lead exposure led to children developing cognitive and physical illnesses, recent reports have revealed lead-tainted water in another Michigan city-- this time less than 100 miles away--in the Detroit Public Schools Community District¹

Tell the leaders in Michigan to act now to protect Black children from poisoned water due to crumbling infrastructure.

After news broke of elevated copper and lead at 16 out of 24 public schools tested, Detroit school officials shut off the water at all other schools and began testing for heavy metals. Community members have long suspected that water quality was subpar due to ancient, toxic pipes, but schools in Detroit began to test for lead and other heavy metals annually just last year. Imagine how many Black students have been exposed to contaminated as a result of neglect up to this point--after all, we know that even small amounts of lead are harmful. It’s time for the Governor and the Mayor to answer the call of the Superintendent and outline a plan to make sure Black students aren't drinking contaminated water.

Pediatricians across the country stress that there is no safe level of lead for our kids. Tell the leaders of Michigan to act.

Data increasingly shows that wherever there is lead in pipes and plumbing, there is a risk for contamination. It is time to take district-wide action to protect kids from lead in drinking water once and for all. First, they must remove lead-bearing pipes and plumbing, then we must install filters certified to remove lead, and finally allow no more than 1 part per billion of lead in school drinking water, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.² We can do this through regular testing and maintenance.

Now is the time to act on behalf of the future of Black students. We have already seen the results of neglect in this drastic action to cut off water in all of the schools. In the richest nation in the world, we are again seeing Black children being exposed to lead in Flint and Detroit. We demand action to protect Black children now.

Take action now to guarantee Michigan protects Black students.

Until justice is real,

Jade, Brandi, Rashad, Arisha, Evan, Johnny, Future, Corina, Chad, Mary, Saréya, Angela, Eesha, Samantha, and the rest of the Color Of Change team

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References :

1. "Detroit public schools shut off drinking water because of ‘elevated levels’ of lead, copper" The Washington Post, 30 August 2018. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/88777?t=9&akid=17605%2E1942551%2E1AQxUH
2. "With No Amount of Lead Exposure Safe for Children, American Academy of Pediatrics Calls For Stricter Regulations" American Academy of Pediatrics, 20 August 2016. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/88778?t=11&akid=17605%2E1942551%2E1AQxUH

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