Jackson water crisis: NAACP president, congressman call for accountability from state, feds
A town hall hosted by the NAACP had some simple takeaways: work toward clean, safe drinking water and keep Jackson's water system public with local control.
U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson and NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson attended the meeting Monday evening at New Hope Baptist Church.
Thompson has called for an investigation into how the state will distribute federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help Jackson make repairs to the city's water and sewer systems.
"It's simple; when you take money from the federal government, there is accountability that goes with it. You can't take it and act as if there's no accountability," Thompson said.
There was also a portion of the meeting that allowed residents, Jackson leaders and community members to offer their feedback, solutions and the impacts of the city's water crisis.
"In the 25 years that the state of Mississippi has received federal funds for water, the city of Jackson only received funds three of those 25 years," Johnson, a Jackson native, said. "That's an equity that this administration said they were going to address."
The NAACP has filed a discrimination complaint for mishandling the Jackson water crisis. The Title VI complaint calls for an investigation into the state's "gross mishandling" of the water problems in Jackson. The complaint cited what the NAACP called "a long history of discrimination through years of neglect and the repeated denial of requests for federal funds."