This is a word, a new podcast from Slate. I'm your host, Jason Johnson.

Residents of Mississippi's capital endured weeks of this winter without clean running water.

Imagine waking up thinking it's raining outside. I could probably capture some water to flush my toilets.

Water access is an issue for thousands of black communities in and outside of rural America.

Now some activists want to put this at the center of a racial equity agenda.

A fight for water justice. Next, on a word with me, Jason Johnson. Stay tuned.

Welcome to a word, a podcast about race and politics and everything else. I'm your host,

Jason Johnson. A combination of bad weather and failed infrastructure meant thousands of people

in the mostly black city of Jackson, Mississippi spent weeks without clean water in February and early

March. Residents had to rely on donated water for everyday tasks. Jackson resident Kehinde Gainer

documented his family's experience in a video. We can't use the water to brush our teeth. We can't

use it to wash our face. Maybe wash our hands with some hand sanitizers behind it. We can't use it

to clean our dishes that have been sitting in the dishwasher. We can't use it to cook.

We can't drink it. Well, it seems like Jackson's immediate water crisis is getting resolved. Many

black communities in the rural south and elsewhere struggle to get access to clean water every day.

It's a complicated problem that doesn't get the same national attention as other racial justice

priorities or the latest black person who's been killed in a viral video. One woman who is working

to change that is Katherine Coleman Flowers. She's the author of Waste, One Woman's Fight Against

America's Dirty Secret, and a winner of a 2020 MacArthur Genius Grant. Welcome to the show,

Katherine. Thank you for having me. Whether some of the issues with infrastructure,

communication, and government that led to this happening in Jackson, Mississippi,

which is actually a state capital. Whether it's in Jackson is not unusual. I believe that

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