Poverty and the Economy of Clean Water in Mississippi

Are the solutions too little too late?

America: home of the brave, land of the free—and the land of great disparity. Nowhere is this more evident than in Mississippi. Almost half of the state’s residents live in poverty, and shockingly, its capital city, Jackson, doesn’t have reliable access to clean running water. How did we get here? The answer is as unsettling as it is clear: systemic racism and economic neglect.

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A State of Poverty

Did you know? Nearly 48% of people in Mississippi—approximately 1.3 million residents—are considered poor or low-income. That includes:

• 58% of children (417,000)

• 52% of women (792,000)