Jackson water crisis: Mississippi accused of ‘intolerable’ racial discrimination

State officials accused of violating civil rights, which resulted in persistently unsafe and unreliable drinking water' for residents

The NAACP filed a federal complaint on Tuesday accusing Mississippi state officials of violating civil rights law by repeatedly diverting federal funds meant for ensuring safe drinking water away from the state's predominantly Black capital, Jackson, to smaller, white communities.

Their conduct amounted to racial discrimination and a devastating loss of access to drinking water for more than a month for residents in Jackson, where more than 80% of residents are Black and a quarter are in poverty.