tRump is at it again with the “no DEI” restrictions baloney. He may have outdone MTG! This one is just gut-wrenching. And you’re getting lots of quotes. We’ll start from the beginning. From BallAndStrikes.org: “In 2023, the Biden administration reached a settlement to help provide modern sanitation infrastructure to residents of Lowndes County, a predominantly Black county in Alabama. The Trump White House could not let this injustice stand.” Oh, h*ll yes, they could! In November 2021, the Biden administration opened an investigation into whether the Lowndes County Health Department and the Alabama Department of Public Health were violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by discriminating against Black residents in the provision of sanitation access. Around a year and a half later, the Justice Department secured a landmark settlement that put Lowndes County on a path to provide Black residents with basic sanitation services that more affluent white communities have long received. “Today starts a new chapter for Black residents of Lowndes County, Alabama, who have endured health dangers, indignities, and racial injustice for far too long,” said Kristen Clarke, who was, at that time, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “
This was a ridiculous place to overlook, unless … “Black people aren’t considered Americans.” This is the place with the highest poverty in Alabama, where the median income is $35,160. The *median* income, which to me says there are more people in poverty than there are not! The dark soil they live on, which was so good for cotton growing, is very poor at absorbing septic system wastewater. So, it bubbles up around their homes and *in* their homes through bathtubs, sinks, and toilets. Alabama requires people with no access to the sewer systems to buy their own septic tanks – except that what could handle this can cost up to $70,000!
Here we go with another quote: “Priced out of conventional septic systems, generations of Lowndes County residents have resorted to ‘straight piping.’ The term refers to a practice where people dig ditches and build their own makeshift piping systems in an attempt to guide human waste away from their homes. This results in raw sewage sitting directly outside in foul-smelling pools, harboring a variety of pathogens and bacteria. Using straight piping is unsafe and, under Alabama state law, a criminal misdemeanor offense, so many people suffer in silence in efforts to avoid drawing attention and incurring legal penalties. Residents have been fined, arrested, and jailed, and have had liens put on their property because they couldn’t purchase the sanitation infrastructure that the state didn’t provide.” Come ON now! This was deliberate! Remember, “Black people aren’t Americans”, right? So, they suffer in silence to stay off the radar. And this is infuriating! What. The. H***. I cannot imagine what it’s like living with that day after day. I’m lucky.
Black people have been fighting for political influence in Lowndes County for decades, and in the face of significant resistance. The county’s reputation for racial terrorism earned it the nickname “Bloody Lowndes,” and civil rights activist Kwame Ture once called it “the most backward and violent county in Alabama. The Biden administration’s settlement was a small but welcome step towards actually responding to Black residents’ needs.” Yea, I can’t imagine what it’s like to live there.
But wait, there’s still more! “Earlier this month, the Department of Justice announced that, pursuant to President Donald Trump’s executive order , ‘ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing, it was terminating the settlement immediately.’ “The DOJ will no longer push ‘environmental justice’ as viewed through a distorting, DEI lens,” said Harmeet K. Dhillon, Clarke’s successor in the Civil Rights Division. “Americans deserve a government committed to serving every individual with dignity and respect, and to expending taxpayer resources in accordance with the national interest, not arbitrary criteria.” WHAT?! This is *not* serving every individual with dignity and respect!
DEI is getting people adequate sewer coverage? Get OUTTA here! How, how, HOW is that DEI? It’s something that was LONG past due. It’s something Lowndes County *deserves* to have. It’s something they *need* to have. The state is going to keep going as long as they have the money from the original settlement, but who knows when it will run out. Who knows who will have access? Who knows how many people will continue to have to suffer in silence? But “Black people aren’t Americans”, right? (WRONG. They ARE.)
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This is absolutely the worst! Let’s hope a LOT of people rise up against this injustice, like we did for the Abrego Garcia case. SMH
PS there is NO EXCUSE for this, except mean-spirited, hateful racism. These people are not asking for special treatment, merely the basics that everyone else enjoys.
Sara Huckabeebee Sanders wants FEMA assistance from the tornadoes.
Toughky Shitsky Sara. You’re plain outta luck from your former boss.