Indiana and Florida Racial Waters

Water is the most essential part of life. It keeps all biological beings alive. Without it, none of us would exist. Despite this fundamental truth, water wars are waging across the globe. People are struggling to maintain access to safe, clean, usable water. Our governments and systems are preventing universal access to a critical resource. These problems are even more poignant for African American communities, who suffer from disproportionate water issues. Open your eyes and look around you. The water crisis follows us through all inches on this planet, its inescapable, but not unsolvable. The following information will help further your understanding of water as a community issue and gives an informational foundation on why and how you can care.

I was born in Florida and spent the first two years of my life there. I then moved to Indiana from age 2 until age 11. From ages 11 to 18, I moved back to Florida and spent my formative years there. Despite being known as the sunshine state, it is also one of the more rain-heavy states. It is basically always wet, in one way or another. I lived in Port Charlotte Florida, in between Fort Meyers and Sarasota. This is located on the Southwest coast, right on Charlotte Harbor. This means I was completely surrounded by ocean, abundant water. I interacted with it every single day, it couldn’t be avoided. It gave me incredible memories, such as swimming in the ocean with my friends, going fishing with my mom, or analyzing water samples for school. I loved the fun and exploratory side that water allowed me. But it is not all perfect happiness. Water is also a means of destruction. My hometown went through two major Hurricanes during the time I have lived there. The most recent one being Hurricane Ian, one of the worst Hurricanes to ever hit my hometown. It completely destroyed my friends and families’ homes and businesses. My mother is still struggling to rebuild the damage that was done. According to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, the death count in my county alone, Charlotte County, was 23 people. Water is capable of providing beauty, fun, health, and power, but is also capable of destruction, ruin, and depression. Living in Florida allowed me to understand water as a complex and unpredictable being, and also assured me of its utmost importance in our lives.

Florida has an intense and comprehensive history related to water. Despite having one of the most abundant water sources in America, it is struggling to maintain water security for its citizens. This is due in part to the struggle with Florida’s Aquifer system. According to Jon Heggie of The National Geographic, Florida’s aquifer can be defined as; “the natural freshwater reservoir that underpins life in the Sunshine State.” It is the primary source of water for the entire state, and water is the primary form of life for everything. However, the aquifer is facing many issues. Florida was once a luscious wetland, that thrived alongside its water source. But people started moving into the land, and the water was drained for cities to be built upon the land. And as more people moved to Florida, more water was taken from the aquifer. These problems just kept piling on top of each other, and the state is now facing a  crisis. The most devastating aspect is misuse of resources. According to Jon Heggie again from The National Geographic, ”   Half of all the water taken from the public supply ends up watering private lawns —some 900 million gallons a day.”. Even though we are running out of water, it is still being used on frivolous things like lawn care. There is not a lot of work being done of the governments part to correct these problems either, or they seem to feel apathetic toward citizens’ concerns. According to James Godin of FSUNews; “Ryan Smart of 1000 Friends of Florida says, “yet the amount allocated for our state’s water is extremely small. In fact, for every $200 spent on roads, only $1 is spent on water management.”” The government is prioritizing building new cities and roads, rather than managing the water crisis, which could devastate Florida and make it unlivable.

Florida is no exception to the experience of African Americans in this country, who are neglected and ignored by their government. They are repeatedly not prioritized and suffer the most from water crises and water problems. In a historical sense, Black Neighborhoods were torn down. The Tarpon Pass Estates are an example of this happening. A group of black Floridians created a small community on Boca Grande Island, but according to Florida State Parks, “In the 1950s, families were forced to relocate as private landowners sought development.”. This community was forced out of its home, and was continually pushed out for white private landowners, until it ceased to exist altogether. This is a prime example of African Americans needs being ignored for private, rich interests.

            In more recent history, African American neighborhoods are struggling to keep intact during devastating events like Hurricanes, most specifically the recent Hurricane Ian. Despite the fact that this hurricane, as well as others, affect many neighborhoods in Florida, and obviously don’t target based upon race, African Americans still struggle the most, because the government does not prioritize them. According to Karin Thompson of WUSF Public Media, “Residents said they fear they will once again have to wait in the after-math as their wealthier white neighbors in the area get first priority.”. This quote is exemplifying how African American communities are suffering more than their white counterparts during natural disasters. They are ignored and do not get the help they need, leading to more devastation and problems for their communities.  

            I moved to Indiana when I was just two years old. I then spent the next nine years of my life in this state, and I moved back here just recently for college. Growing up as a child in Indiana, water was very important to me. I lived on a large farm, that had streams and creeks lining the property. My siblings and I would spend hours exploring the water, catching crawdads, swimming, finding random “treasures”. Water was very important to me. I didn’t fully understand the extent of its importance until later in my life, however. Moving to college, I became more aware of my water consumption and usage. I found myself complaining about the showers in my dorm, and the lack of an ice machine to cool my drinks. With these superfluous complaints came a very guilty epiphany, that I was complaining about water access, but I wasn’t experiencing anything close to a water crisis or water scarcity. Being in this class specifically made me realize that I needed to be more grateful for the abundance of water I had, because it isn’t always permanent.

Indiana is not a coastal state by any means, unlike Florida, but it still is filled with different bodies of water from corner to corner. The state thrives off of its rivers, lakes, and streams, for people and for agriculture. However, Indiana’s water is in very bad shape, and is not taken care of like it should. According to the Indiana Environmental Reporter, “A  report  by the Environmental Integrity Project found that the state of Indiana reported to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that 73% of rivers and streams and 23% of lakes and reservoirs have recreational use impairments, pollution that prevents those waterways from “fully supporting” recreational uses that involve bodily contact with the water, like swimming, fishing and boating.” These bodies of water that Indiana is relying on, are not even safe to exist in. So are they even safe to rely on? These problems with the water quality lie majorly in two areas, Agricultural runoff, and sewer runoff. Indiana is a very big farm state, with both plant and animal agriculture existing throughout. These places take up a lot of space and use a lot of resources, unfortunately these resources are beginning to fall into the water supply. And even when the government attempts to regulate the businesses who take part in agriculture from doing these things, they continue to find loopholes to avoid consequences. The sewer runoff into the water system is another very bad event because it causes E-Coli to exist in the water. According to the Indiana Environmental Reporter again, “E. coli can give swimmers or people in impaired waters diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps, nausea or cause vomiting. In extreme cases, E. coli bacteria can cause kidney failure or death.”. So not only is the runoff and pollution making the water dirty, but it is also making it dangerous and even deadly. This sewer runoff is caused by a lack of resources being put into infrastructure throughout the state, which is causing the sewer systems to fail or just not work properly, because they need fixing.

Indiana has a very bad history with its treatment towards the African American community that it inhabits. This is shown perfectly by the incidents that occurred with Indiana Avenue. It was a neighborhood existing within Indianapolis, that was entirely built and supported by Black Americans. It featured all aspects of a successful and thriving neighborhood, like schools, churches, parks, and apartments. According to Wildstyle Paschall of New America, “But it was way more than just an Avenue; symbolically and culturally, it was an organism.”. However, despite its booming success as a neighborhood, the white communities surrounding it, and the Indiana government were not going to allow this community to thrive. Slowly, the avenue started to be destroyed. It first started with issues of legal segregation, and the government trying to “integrate” the state, which only led to smaller pockets of segregation, and hurt Indiana Avenue. The next part of the destroying was because of the building of IUPUI, which was decided to be placed right in the middle of Indiana Avenue, displacing, and destroying the homes of the residents, and they found themselves without homes, and without community. The final nail in the coffin for Indiana Avenue was the building of a highway right through the Avenue, causing it to completely falter at the hands of the state government. This is an example of Black neighborhoods and African American communities being failed by their government and fellow citizens, and they are not given the space to grow and thrive like other communities are.

Another example of African American communities being failed by the government system in Indiana, is the poisoning of their water supplies. According to Benjamin Clark of New America, “We know that Black children tend to have higher blood lead levels than their white counterparts, even factoring in socioeconomic status (Waterhouse 2015, 99).” This quote is showing that due to redlining and government apathy towards Black communities, they are much more likely to have lead or other pollutants in their water supply, and are even less likely to receive assistance to help them fix these problems.

            It may seem like a pointless effort to solve the water crisis in America and across the globe. Especially when you understand how deeply it is engrained into the systems we exist in, and how much is affects the African American Community. However, there are people and organizations and communities out there that are dedicating their lives to solving these problems. One of them in Indiana is the ROW or “Reconnecting to Our Waterways’. According to their own mission statement, “ROW has been able to convene community partners to enhance quality of life through innovation, analysis, cultural advancement and investment along Indy waterways and neighborhoods. We have walked alongside communities to discover and celebrate Indy’s waterways as a community asset.” This organization is attempting to reverse these problems that are ruining the local water system, and instead invest in its growth and prosperity. It does these things through programs like community assistance, and collective impact. With organizations like the ROW putting in the effort to save our water supply, it feels possible to end and avoid future water wars and water crises.