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White then Black residents abandoned Jackson, propelling its water crisis
Washington PostJackson has been under a boil-water notice since late July, with long-standing water system failures exacerbated by recent flooding and broken pumps at the city’s main water plant that left many in the capital city of 150,000 without water last week. It wasn’t clear how soon the system would be fixed, at what cost or by whom.
The opposing circumstances, suffering in Jackson as surrounding towns are spared, are rooted in decades of racism, historians and infrastructure experts say. Those divides rest on the impact of two separate migrations out of the city.
White flight beginning in the 1970s drove onetime Jackson residents into neighboring areas. The city’s decline since then has prompted better-off Black residents to escape Jackson’s failing infrastructure, not just water but also roads and schools. The more recent departures further eroded the city’s tax base, lessening its ability to afford repairs or apply for federal money as its infrastructure crumbled.
Gabriel Killingsworth lives in suburban Clinton with his girlfriend, a registered nurse who bought their brick house in a subdivision last year after living in Jackson. Both are Black. Since this past week, his daughter has been coming from Jackson with her 7-year-old son to shower, eat and do laundry.
The opposing circumstances, suffering in Jackson as surrounding towns are spared, are rooted in decades of racism, historians and infrastructure experts say. Those divides rest on the impact of two separate migrations out of the city.
White flight beginning in the 1970s drove onetime Jackson residents into neighboring areas. The city’s decline since then has prompted better-off Black residents to escape Jackson’s failing infrastructure, not just water but also roads and schools. The more recent departures further eroded the city’s tax base, lessening its ability to afford repairs or apply for federal money as its infrastructure crumbled.
Gabriel Killingsworth lives in suburban Clinton with his girlfriend, a registered nurse who bought their brick house in a subdivision last year after living in Jackson. Both are Black. Since this past week, his daughter has been coming from Jackson with her 7-year-old son to shower, eat and do laundry.
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