From Crisis to Action: Arab American Involvement in Flint’s Water Crisis
by Ameera Abouali
Site Description:
The city of Flint experienced one of the most severe water crises in the nation, lasting about 18 months from 2014 to late 2015. However, its effects remained long after. My research focuses on how the Arab American community in Flint responded to this crisis, exploring their mobilization against systemic neglect. This project highlights broader patterns of environmental injustice faced by marginalized communities and aims to inspire and empower Arab American communities nationwide to engage in environmental justice efforts.
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Primary Sources:
Source One:
Harb, Ali. “Arab American Residents Hit Hard by Flint Crisis.” Arab American News = Al-Akhbar al-ʻArabīyah al-Amīrkīyah, 2016.
Title: Arab American Residents Hit Hard by Flint Crisis; Ali Harb published by Arab American News on January 30, 2016
Location: Rutgers Libraries Database ProQuest
Description: This news article supports my argument by showing how Arab American activists, like Mona Sahouri, stepped in to help their community when government aid was lacking. It highlights how language barriers, lack of political representation, and systemic neglect left Arab American families struggling to access safe water and information, reinforcing the broader issue of environmental injustice.
Source Two:
Bosman, Julie. “Recall Effort Intensifies Pressure on Michigan Governor: Facing Attacks Over Handling of Water Crisis in Flint, and Detroit’s Tattered Schools.” New York Times (1923-), Mar 13, 2016.
Title: Recall Effort Intensifies Pressure on Michigan Governor: Facing Attacks Over Handling of Water Crisis in Flint, and Detroit’s Tattered Schools. Written by Julie Bosman, published by the New York Times on March 13th, 2016
Location: Rutgers Libraries Database: ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times
Description: The New York Times article discusses efforts to remove Michigan’s governor Rick Snyder from office because of the Flint Water Crisis. It focuses on political accountability and how government failures led to the crisis. This source helps explain the political side of the issue and how different communities, including Arab Americans, fought for change. Unlike other sources that mainly discuss health or environmental effects, this article shows how politics and community activism played a role, making it a valuable resource for understanding environmental injustice.
Source Three:
“Arab American Heritage Council.” Facebook, January 21, 2016. https://www.facebook.com/AAHCFlint/posts/friends-and-community-membersin-response-to-the-flint-water-crisis-the-arab-amer/1716827125228904/.
Title: Arab American Heritage Council posted on the organization’s Facebook account on January 21, 2016.
Location: Arab American Heritage Council’s Facebook Post.
Description: This source helps my research by showing how the Arab American community in Flint took action to help families during the water crisis. It gives real evidence of how people worked together to share resources and information. Unlike other sources that focus on government failures or health effects, this one shows community efforts to support those affected, which connects to my argument about neglect and lack of political representation.
Source Four:
Wang, Frances Kai-Hwa. “Michigan Muslim Community Organizations Join Forces to Help Flint Water Crisis.” NBCNews.com, January 29, 2016. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/michigan-muslim-community-organizations-join-forces-help-flint-water-crisis-n507381.
Title: Michigan Muslim Community Organizations Join Forces to Help Flint Water Crisis; written by Frances Kai-Hwa Wang for NBC News. Published January 29, 2016.
Location: NBC News
Description: This primary source specifically illustrates how Arab American and Muslim organizations, such as the Michigan Muslim Community Council and Islamic Relief USA, played a critical role in providing aid to Flint residents by distributing clean water, filters, and educational materials. It strengthen my argument by showing how Arab Americans, as part of a broader marginalized community, responded to systemic neglect through grassroots activism and mutual aid efforts. Additionally, the source highlights their advocacy for infrastructure improvements, reinforcing how the lack of political representation pushed these communities to take direct action in addressing environmental injustice.
Source Five:
Fortenberry, Gamola Z, Patricia Reynolds, Sherry L Burrer, Vicki Johnson-Lawrence, Alice Wang, Amy Schnall, Price Pullins, Stephanie Kieszak, Tesfaye Bayleyegn, and Amy Wolkin. “Assessment of Behavioral Health Concerns in the Community Affected by the Flint Water Crisis — Michigan (USA) 2016.” Prehospital and Disaster Medicine 33, no. 3 (2018): 256–65. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049023X18000250.
Title: Assessment of Behavioral Health Concerns in the Community Affected by the Flint Water Crisis — Michigan (USA). Published on April 19, 2018 by Cambridge University Press/
Location: Rutgers Libraries Database- Cambridge University Press
Link: https://doi-org.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/10.1017/S1049023X18000250.
Description: This report details the behavioral health consequences of the Flint Water Crisis, such as increased anxiety and depression among residents, particularly in marginalized communities. For example, it mentions the activation of crisis counseling services and the establishment of the Flint Community Resilience Group, which aimed to address the unique needs of these communities. The data in this report will help me in supporting any analyzing my argument.
Analysis:
Source Three
This Facebook post was posted by the Arab American Heritage Council to inform the Arab American community members about water resources that will be provided to them by the Arab American Heritage Council (AAHC) and the St. George Orthodox Church. The post addressed various key contexts such as community-led relief efforts, language barriers, and religious mobilizations. This source suggests how the Arab American community in Flint relied on social media such as Facebook for information and help rather than seeking help from national organizations.
The post provides strong evidence of how the Arab American community in Flint stepped up to support one another during the water crisis. The AAHC secured water bottle donations and arranged home deliveries for families without transportation, ensuring that no one was left without access to clean water. The source addressed language barriers recognizing that a part of the community was not native English speakers, the preparation of bilingual outreach information is crucial to keep the community up to date with all information needed. The involvement of St George Orthodox Church shows the important role of religious spaces in providing resources, as faith-based institutions like churches and mosques serve as trusted organizations to support marginalized communities. The Arab Americans had to step up in the absence of government support backing that crisis as yet another example of environmental Injustice and systemic neglect.
Secondary Sources:
Source One:
Teach Mideast. “American Muslims and the Flint Water Crisis: A Case Study.” TeachMideast. Accessed November 21, 2023. https://teachmideast.org/american-muslims-and-the-flint-water-crisis-a-case-study/
This source presents a case study of how Muslim-American groups, especially Arab-American-led initiatives, handled the Flint water crisis. It describes the community’s efforts to supply clean water, push for regulatory reforms, and address the larger environmental justice concerns at hand. This will be very useful for my paper because it emphasizes the direct engagement of Arab American groups in environment justice initiatives, It also provides insight into how marginalized communities mobilize in response to public health emergencies.
Source Two:
Michigan Civil Rights Commission. Systemic Racism Through the Lens of Flint. Michigan Civil Rights Commission, 2017.
This report examines the historical and systemic racism present in Flint and Genesee County, focusing on key areas such as housing, environmental justice, and the emergency manager law. The Michigan Civil Rights Commission highlights how these factors have contributed to the crisis in Flint, especially in relation to the water contamination issue. It provides insight into how structural inequalities have exacerbated the challenges faced by the predominantly Black community of Flint, offering a critical lens on the intersections of race, policy, and environmental health.
Source Three:
Vitanza, Vincent J., “Beyond the Tap: The Flint, Michigan Water Crisis as an Issue of Environmental Racism” (2024). Student Theses 2015-Present. 167. https://research.library.fordham.edu/environ_2015/167
This source presents an environmental justice framework for assessing the Flint issue, focusing on the legal and political shortcomings that contributed to the contamination. It looks at how systemic environmental racism and political inaction disproportionally impact marginalized communities. This source is important to my research because it contextualizes the Flint crisis within larger environmental injustice concerns allowing me to examine how Arab Americans, as part of Flint’s minority community were affected and organized in response.
Source Four:
Chen, Michelle. “The Refugees of Flint’s Water Crisis.” Common Dreams, January 28, 2016. https://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/01/28/refugees-flints-water-crisis.
This article supports my research by highlighting how immigrant communities, including Arab Americans, experienced challenges during the water crisis due to various factors. The article mentions that many Arab immigrants relied on ethnic media and due to their background in government in their home countries, they tended to trust the American government to much which led their response to be delayed in the crisis. This reinforced the need for community-led efforts, particularly within religious spaces such as mosques and churches, which of course became vital places for distributing resources.
Source Five:
Pauli, Benjamin J. Flint Fights Back : Environmental Justice and Democracy in the Flint Water Crisis. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2019.https://rutgers.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma991031668700304646&context=L&vid=01RUT_INST:01RUT&lang=en&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI_2&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=Everything_except_research&query=any,contains,flint%20water%20crisis&offset=0
This book provides a broader context of how marginalized communities, faced barriers during the water crisis. Some of the chapters highlight how activists in Flint transformed their personal struggles into a collective political action. The book will provide a great understanding of how Flint’s water crisis became a very important event that relates to environmental injustice.
Source Six:
Hanna-Attisha, Mona. What the Eyes Don’t See : A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City. First edition. New York, New York: One World, 2018. Chapter 14.
Dr. Mona is an Arab American who discovered the city water supples was contaminated with lead. In her book, she discusses the impact of toxic water on the community. In my research I will mainly focus on chapter 14 titled “Environmental Injustice” Dr. Mona was an advocate herself drawing national attention to the crisis with her scientific experience. This can support the power of grassroots advocacy and community mobilization in response to government neglect.
Image Analysis:
Members of the Flint Muslim youth distrusting cases of water to the community in front of the Muslim House Inc.
This image was taken by Santiago Ochoa for Flint Beat a local newspaper, in front of “The Muslim House Inc.” in Flint Michigan. The Muslim House Inc. was established in 1995 and serves as a place of worship and a center for community services. Local residents, especially young individuals from the Muslim community have stepped up to support their neighborhood through water distribution efforts. The intended audience of this image is not only people who care and fight for environmental injustice but for the community itself, their distributing bottled water supports that this house is here to serve the community. The involvement of the community’s work and the visible economic struggles in the area demonstrate that Flint’s water crisis had lasting effects, leaving the community to rely on itself for aid.
One of the image’s most notable elements is the cases of water bottles, regardless of the city’s water supply being reconnected in late 2015, Flint residents continued with their water distribution. The people on the sidewalk are seen handing out water, with signs that say “ FREE WATER,” demonstrating that clean water remains a necessity rather than a given resource for the people of Flint. This highlights that people still lack trust in the safety of their tap water or do not have enough access to clean drinking water. The need for bottled water suggests that government efforts to restore water security were slow to be fully effective and produce real-life results. This ongoing struggle highlights the lasting effects of environmental crises such as water pollution on marginalized communities specifically the Arab American/Muslim community, extending far beyond their designated timeline.
Next is “ The Muslim House Inc.” house and its volunteers in providing aid is another key aspect of the image. The presence of Hijabi women signifies religious identity along with a diverse group including African American these individuals show community support, resilience, and collective responsibility from the community.
One missing element is government agencies or national relief organizations; instead, it is members of the community, particularly from the Muslim community who are leading efforts to help their neighborhood. Additionally, it looks at the broader history of community-driven grassroots activism, where marginalized communities stepped up in the absence of institutional support.
On the far side of the continuous act of aid, the right side of the image tells a profound story about the economic struggles faced by the community. On the right, the tumbledown house with a collapsed roof points that the community is being affected by long-term economic neglect and environmental injustice Flint has suffered along with the water crisis. The photo was taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, a period that worsened the economy, especially for low-income communities. The pandemic added more stress on the residents who were already struggling with water insecurity and government neglect. This overlapping crisis reinforced the support from grassroots/religious organizations, as local communities had to step in where institutional support was lacking.
The powerful representation of post-crisis environmental inequality in the photograph pointed to the absence of government agencies highlighting how the burden of recovery has fallen not on those in power but on the individuals who have suffered the most. It is the members of the community, particularly the Muslim community, who have mobilized to help their neighborhood, despite the official resolution of the crisis. This image shows how Flint’s water crisis is not an out-of-the-way event but part of a broader environmental issue in postwar America, where marginalized communities suffered from environmental neglect and systemic failures.
