Letter to the editor

I am Armani Fryer, a sophomore mass communication major at Jackson State University. Although I attended middle school and high school in Memphis, Tenn. after my mother and step-father decided to relocate me and my siblings for a better opportunity at life, Flint, Mich. is and will always be in my heart.

I have visited Flint pretty much every summer and some winter breaks every year since I relocated, not to mention my biological father, along with my remaining grandparents, uncles, aunties, cousins, and another younger sister still live there.

The city has always had a terrible display of ownership within the city. As long as I can remember, the roads have always had numerous potholes; the crime rate has always been among the top dangerous cities in the country (according to Forbes). Most recently, the national news has exposed the fact that the tap-water is contaminated, and contains high levels of lead. This is absolutely nothing new, especially coming from a resident of the city who pretty much has lived there all his life.

I question if the governor even cares about each city, or takes the initiative to observe what is going on in each city. The officials most recently stated that it will take up to a year to replace all of the lead pipes. If you ask me, the government in Michigan is a complete joke. There is no way anybody on the face of the earth should be in that position, or even accept the fact that they have to bathe CHILDREN along with themselves strictly from water bottles.

This is an embarrassment. No city in this country should ever be placed in this position. You would expect this situation to only appear in third world countries such as Haiti. It saddens me beyond any measure known to man to think about my family members, and potentially myself who have to endure this travesty. That is exactly what this situation is.

Numerous professional athletes, different organizations across the country along with millionaires have donated water bottles to the city of Flint, but this still does not leave Governor Snyder out of the water. He needs to immediately be relieved of his duties and fined from every citizen of Flint, Mich. and those who were affected by the contaminated water. If a travesty of this nature has been allowed to occur, then just imagine what else could happen.

I just want to be able to sleep at night knowing that my family members are not in critical health conditions and can somehow get treated with the high amounts of lead in their blood, but it is not their fault. People have died, children have become sick, and people have brain damage, along with long term health issues.

So therefore, all I am saying is that something must be done. An explanation is not enough when you have an entire city of people poisoned by the water coming out of their sinks, and the water being described as a toxic waste. You can’t even put a fish in that water nor can you feed a pet. Something has to be done.