SEPTEMBER 2022 NEWS ROUNDUP
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You heard from Joe, Charles, our Southern Organizing Advisor, and now I want to connect about the ongoing crisis in Jackson. Given Groundwork’s footprint in Mississippi, we are actively working to support partners on the ground and fielding questions from supporters on how they can help. We are lucky to have built deep relationships with the incredible leaders working around the clock right now to respond to this crisis.
Every month, we send you a newsletter highlighting what’s happening with our partners and in our partner states. It was important to us that we took the opportunity this month to share a few articles about the crisis, what you can do now, and the long history that got us to this point. We hope this helps you better understand the complexities beyond the headlines out of Mississippi. We urge you to forward this newsletters to others since it is clear that the national media is moving on quickly, and frankly, this crisis is simply too important to ignore or put to the side.
On top of all that is happening in Mississippi, we also wanted to share an article about a potential crisis building in West Virginia due to a lack of action and an ongoing concern for incarcerated women in Oklahoma.
We hope you find these newsletters useful and informative. We will continue to share all that we can as things develop in Mississippi and our other partner states.
More soon,
Emily
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Emily Kaufman (she/her)
Executive Director
Groundwork Project
News You Should Know
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Written by a lifelong Mississippian and a “daughter of the South,” Rhea focuses on the impact of the water crisis and the ripple effect it is having on everyday life for Jackson’s children.
“Children’s health, happiness and success is not just about individual parents or grandparents making good choices. It’s about a collective commitment on the part of those who have power and responsibility. Healthy relationships among those who work within a city or state’s systems and sectors are directly and critically linked to children’s health and well-being…
In this moment, we need to address what’s in front of us. Then, when the immediate crisis is over, we need to recognize all of the existing systems that are failing our children, especially our children of color.”
READ MORE HERE
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The crisis in Jackson didn’t start suddenly, the crisis has been building for decades. In fact, for two years the Jackson water system was failing inspections from the Environmental Protection Agency. In those inspections and reports, drinking water was found to potentially host harmful bacteria or parasites. Further, just last year a winter storm froze and burst pipes and left residents without water for nearly a month.
It is important we don’t ignore the patterns and signs of environmental racism in the immediacy of this moment of crisis. The Hill outlines some of the history and patterns that have led to this moment, and highlights other national environmental challenges being faced nationwide.
READ MORE HERE |
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Actions speak louder than words – a sentiment we all know and learn during childhood. In the Groundwork partner state of West Virginia, actions have not worked hand-in-hand with the words and plans laid out by state officials. Comprehensive flood mitigation plans were outlined in 2004 and since then officials have done little to implement them.
As the impacts of severe flooding are being felt throughout eastern Kentucky, West Virginia residents are growing in concern about their own state's ability to mitigate flood concerns. Both Kentucky and West Virginia have topography and residential patterns that lend themselves to flooding. This article explores the plans and the growing urgency being felt by residents.
READ MORE HERE |
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As the article highlights the troubling fact that “Oklahoma incarcerates more women than almost any other state – and many of them were previously abused.”
It’s been long fearedmongered that self-defense can be used as a get-out-of-jail-free card and that leads to a long, grueling process to prove previous abuse. There are a lot of complexities in play when it comes to domestic violence and record keeping. Some of this stems from a fear to report, as well as a lack of trust in the system. This can have a ripple effect for women who are incarcerated and claim self-defense.
“If you’re abused, especially if you’re in a population on the margins like an undocumented person or someone who’s afraid to go to law enforcement or report to a doctor, you’re probably not going to have medical records,” says McCarty, one of the attorneys in Oklahoma, who leads the Appleseed Center for Law and Justice there.
LEARN MORE HERE |
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>Founded by Joe Kennedy III, Groundwork Project invests in year-round, local community organizing in places Democrats have gotten used to writing off. With a focus on Appalachia, the Deep South, and the Plains, we support local advocates and activists working to build durable political infrastructure and secure power for those historically excluded.
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