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FACT BRIEF

Is Jackson, Mississippi's poor water infrastructure related to white flight?

By Debbie Skipper
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YES

A lack of tax revenue due to white flight has made it difficult to finance the upkeep of Jackson, Mississippi’s drinking water and sewage systems.

During the 1990s, the majority Black leadership in Jackson led to a migration of white residents to neighboring communities. In total, nearly 35,000 white residents fled Jackson from 1990 to 2000, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.

Following the migration, wealth and job availability took a hit, causing a contraction in tax revenue. Jackson has thus been unable to make long-term investments in water infrastructure, with consequences such as recurrent shutdowns, “boil water” and “don’t use” alerts, a high number of sewer overflows and untreated sewage discharges.

Jackson hopes to utilize funds earmarked for water-related repairs in President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure plan and other federal bills to remediate these and other issues.

See a full discussion of this at Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
PolicyLink An Equity Profile of Jackson
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting
Formed in 2018, the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting is a nonprofit news organization that seeks to empower citizens in their communities by informing and educating the public. Led by legendary investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell, winner of a MacArthur Genius Award, the center is exposing dark deeds, pulling back the curtain on the spending of taxpayer money and providing workable solutions for the public.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.