The Real Reason Behind Mississippi’s Ongoing Water Crisis…And It’s Not What You Think

By Ty Ross

Last month, most of the United States was affected by the one-two punch of back-to-back winter storms, Uri and Viola. While almost every state saw colder temperatures and unforeseen snow, it was the warmer weathered bottom half that was caught off guard. And unprepared.

While multiple states experienced the loss of power, heat and water, the media focused its attention on Texas. Where residents were hit with astronomical electric bills in the thousands, and 4.5 million of the 5 million affected reside.

But just two states over, and a mere 6.5 hour drive from Dallas, lies Jackson, MS. The state’s capital, and home to 43K residents under a boil water advisory. A city where, 4 weeks after the storms are long on and temperatures back to normal, over 5K are still without any water at all.

The restoration of water to the majority black residents of Jackson has been, for lack of a better word – slow. It is the fact that 80% of those living in the city are African-American, that has led many to claim racism is the reason the state has not made the absence of clean running water for tens of thousands a priority. Given what I know about Mississippi’s long, and not so subtle history of racism and segregation, I was not surprised.

But what did surprise me, was the revelation that the real reason the state may be in less than a hurry to give Jackson and its residents the help that it needs, is because the state wants the city’s mayor to give over ownership of Mississippi’s largest asset – Jackson-Medger Wiley Evers International Airport. Jackson has it. The Governor wants it.

Jackson rests in two counties. Most of it encompasses Hinds County, which is over 60% black. With the rest covering 83% white, Rankin County. Want to take a wild guess as to which county Jackson-Medger is located? You got it. Rankin. The Airport is also surrounded by wealthy suburbs and land prime for investment and development.

In 2016, then Governor Phil Bryant went so far as to attempt to take over the airport. But Jackson was having none of it and fought them in court. Unfortunately, the city lost. But that didn’t stop the current mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, from filing a suit against the state and those attempting to take away the largest single source of income the capital city has. Lumumba has claimed racism as the main motivator. Because he is black, and the council that controls all decisions regarding the airport is also black.

Fast forward to the winter storm. Decades of neglect, lack of investment and maintenance coupled with the hiring of an outsourced billing company that allowed bills to lapse and left broken meters, led to a crisis of epic proportions. The city was already losing $2 million a month in revenue. Prior to the storm, it was estimated to cost roughly $2 billion to do a full overhaul of the city’s infrastructure.

Leaving the predominantly black leadership to take the blame on infrastructure failures since the departure of Jackson’s last white mayor, Kane Ditto in 1997. The legislature, and statewide elected officials, accusing the new city government of ‘letting things go’. But the fact that water and sewer pipes were over 100 years old, proves the problems began and existed way before ’97.

Due to voter suppression laws, and others designed to ensure that blacks had no real say in the way state government is ran, Jackson has an uphill battle in seeking a 1% tax increase to raise $14 million in revenue to help get started on fixing some of the problems.

Mayor Lumumba met with Lt. Governor Gelbert Hosemann to request the legislature meet and approve the mayor’s request to take the vote to the residents of Jackson. Lumumba also requested an emergency infusion of cash to the tune of $47 million that could be used for bonds and working on the sewer and water systems.

Hosemann must have felt like it was Christmas, because needless to say he wasted no time in bringing up the airport. Unsurprisingly, the meeting did not go well. According to Lumumba, Lt. Governor Hosemann said to him “Mayor, I need you to give me my airport, and I look at it for about $30 million.” Subtle.

No agreement to help Jackson has been made, and with the legislature set to adjourn April 4, things are not looking good. If the tax increase isn’t passed, it will have to wait until 2022 for a decision to be made.

Add to that, Lumumba is in a bid for re-election, with none other than Republican candidate Ponto Downing running against him. The same candidate who said he has no desire to be mayor of Jackson. That if Lumumba would just change his political affiliation from Democrat, he can remain mayor. How generous.

Aside from the storm, none of this is coincidental. The water crisis only played into the Governor and state GOP’s hands, and given them the leverage they need to get what they want. That it’s at the expense of over 40K Mississippians not having clean water, is of no consequence.

If you have any doubts that this is nothing more than a power play for the airport, let the words of mayoral candidate Downing sink in “I can get you $470 million, real simple way to do that – sell the airport. Simple, be nice, comply with Tate Reeves.”

Governor Tate and Lt. Governor Hosemann have shown how far they are willing to go to take away yet another resource from Jackson and continue to choke the life out of the city and its people. How fitting that the same state that had the most lynchings of any other state in the country, would be tightening the proverbial ‘noose’ around the neck of the predominantly black capital.

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