Obama Trip to Poisoned Flint Spotlights Economic Inequality
- Low-income city is recovering from lead-contaminated water
- President says filtered water is safe and drinks from a glass
A City of Flint Sewer Department marker flag waves in the wind on a block where lead water lines have started to be replaced on March 17, 2016, in Flint, Michigan.
Photographer: Brett Carlsen/Getty ImagesPresident Barack Obama’s visit Wednesday to poisoned Flint, Michigan, provides both a balm for residents still fearful of their water supply and an illustration of enduring U.S. economic inequality that has plagued his presidency.
The president drank from a glass of filtered water from the city’s taps after receiving a briefing on Flint’s lead crisis at a local food bank. He was to meet with afflicted families, including a young girl who wrote him to request the visit, before a speech to about 1,000 people at Northwestern High School, where about 90 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.