Mississippi Governor Sends Emergency Workers To Contain Jackson Flood To Black Areas

JACKSON, MS—Declaring a state of emergency as more than 180,000 residents lost access to potable water, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves dispatched emergency workers to Jackson on Thursday in an attempt to keep the flood contained to Black parts of the city. “I want the residents of our capital city to rest assured that help is on the way, and that you have the full force of the state’s emergency services behind you as long as you aren’t Black,” Reeves said during a press briefing after signing an executive order that provided officials with “any and all funds necessary” to ensure the 20% of Jackson’s population that wasn’t African American remained dry. “Our fellow Mississippians are in danger right now, and we are doing everything we can to make sure the right ones are taken care of. Sandbags are being placed along the borders of Woodland Hills, Eastover, and Sherwood-Audubon as we speak, and I have authorized teams on the ground to begin pumping floodwaters—if there happen to still be any over there—back into the more urbanized centers of town to be dealt with at a later time, should resources permit.” Reeves went on to make an impassioned plea for donations of bottled water in quantities sufficient to keep fountains and backyard pools operational in all gated communities.