By Sami El-Hajjar, age 12
Benton Harbor, Mich., is struggling with contamination of their water caused by lead pipes, and residents are blaming the state of Michigan for ignoring the issue for so long. Since 2018, Benton Harbor’s water failed six consecutive sampling tests, and some critics argue that the lead levels exceed those found in Flint, Mich., in 2014, according to PBS.
Black Lives Matter, a grassroots social justice movement that protests police violence against unarmed Black and Latino people, is sweeping the country and growing every day. From the Millions March to “die-ins,” activists of all ages are raising voices and fists to demand an end to police killings of unarmed Black and Latino people.
IndyKids reporter Alejandra Paulino had the opportunity to interview one of the main organizers of the Millions March NYC Synead Nichols about her activism.
Massive protests erupted in New York City and nationwide, after a grand jury’s decision not to indict (formally accuse) police officer Daniel Pantaleo in the chokehold death of Eric Garner, a black man in Staten Island.
Today in 2014, 50 years after the passage of the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964, much is still left to be done. In many ways, the battles fought in the past share similar themes with challenges we face today.
