Nor Any Drop to Drink - Central Michigan University

Documentary collaboration with Cedric A. L. Taylor, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology Anthropology and Social Work, Central Michigan University. The documentary, Nor Any Drop to Drink, focuses on the ongoing water crisis in Flint, Michigan. In 2014, in order to save money, the state switched Flint’s water supply to the heavily polluted Flint River as a cost saving measure. Almost immediately, residents complained of rashes, hair and tooth loss and expressed concerns about Legionnaire’s disease, miscarriage and childhood development. Belatedly, officials admitted that the water was contaminated. Both Michigan and the federal government declared a state of emergency. In 2016, the public was inundated with images of children being tested for lead, protests, and crowded water distribution sites. Today, Flint has largely dropped out of national headlines. However the horrors faced by many residents still remain. Punctuated by the experiences of ordinary residents, Nor Any Drop to Drink sheds light on how failure of government, declining infrastructure, economic policy and structural racism created the Flint water crisis. The continuing struggles of residents are also highlighted. Nor Any Drop to Drink goes beyond sensationalist news reports to better understand why within a city in the Great Lakes State, there is neither trust in governmental institutions…nor any drop to drink. This project has received the Vice President for Research Discretionary Funds 2016-17. They matched the $10,000.00 that’s was committed by the CHSBS Dean's office.