When I was younger, my whole family lived in Newark, New Jersey. They were all immigrants: my grandmother, all of my aunts and uncles, several of my cousins, and my mother were all born and raised in Colombia. There was a difference between the life I lived with my mom and white dad in rural West Virginia and the life the rest of my family lived in inner-city New Jersey, however, and I realized it even from a young age.
But the consequences and implications of my Hispanic family members living in inner-city New Jersey went beyond the fact that they lived in a rough, crime-ridden area. Living in inner-city New Jersey meant that not only were they forced to live in a crime-ridden area because it’s all they could afford at the time (even while working two jobs); it also meant that my cousins were getting a subpar education. It meant that not only were the streets dangerous, but the schools were as well. I remember hearing my aunt crying to my grandmother on many nights because she was worried about what could happen to my cousins at school, especially my cousin Sergio, who was being targeted for recruitment by gangs as early as sixth grade. I remember my aunts and uncles being concerned about the quality of education my cousins were receiving at Newark Public Schools, and in addition, being concerned about the quality of the school buildings themselves. My cousins would talk about how gross and unsanitary the bathrooms were, and how parts of the buildings and had mold growing on them.
It is important to note that the Newark Public School system is overwhelmingly black and Hispanic. Currently, white students make up less than ten percent of the Newark Public School System (Zielinski). So when I found out that the drinking water in Newark public schools has become so bad that the schools are shutting off the water to avoid poisoning the students, I was not surprised. But I’m also furious. I’m completely and utterly outraged that this issue hasn’t (and won’t) make national headlines, and it IS because we have a tendency to brush tragedies that mostly affect minorities under the rug.
What’s happening in the Newark Public School System is outrageous, and the same things that are happening in Newark are occurring in predominantly non-white areas all across the country. It’s happening in Detroit, certain parts of Chicago, and Compton. It’s happening two hours away in Baltimore. Right now, students in Newark can’t drink water from their school water fountains because if they do, they’ll get lead poisoning. We are POISONING our students in 2016. In America. And yes, it’s mostly our black and Latino students that we are poisoning.
Let’s be real for a second— if the predominantly white students in Loudoun County were being poisoned due to the amount of lead in their water, the issue would be fixed as quickly as possible. Furthermore, there is no doubt in my mind that if the problem could not be resolved quickly enough, the federal government would most certainly send aid to Loudoun County Public Schools.
So why is the federal government turning a blind eye at the black and Latino seven year olds who are drinking lead-contaminated water? Why is Newark’s mayor saying that the water is “perfectly safe” when it clearly isn’t? What if my cousins and I were younger, and it was my cousins who were being poisoned by lead while they attended elementary school (and for all we know, maybe they were)? Why do most students in predominantly white areas have access to the fundamental right of safe drinking water, but those in predominantly non-white areas are expected to drink lead-contaminated water?
Really well written, Daniela. It is really difficult to get people who are privileged to see it.
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