Okay, the obvious answer is racism. But they were also acting pursuant to a conspiracy of willful and spiteful greed.
Most Americans were stupefied and saddened in equal measure recently by news reports showing Blacks in Jackson, Mississippi, bemoaning about brown, putrid sludge coming out of their water taps for weeks on end, when anything came out at all.
How could this (still) happen in America?
How is this possible we all wondered… After all, this is America, the richest country in the world. What’s more, that notorious water crisis in Flint, Michigan, saw crooked politicians end up in jail. So we thought that ensured something like this would never happen again.
Well, talk about those who fail to learn from history being doomed to repeat it…
CNN reported yesterday how former NFL and Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre conspired with white politicians in Mississippi to siphon off millions in tax dollars we sent for welfare programs to help poor Blacks like those in Jackson. Specifically, they diverted millions intended for the poor so Favre could build a volleyball stadium at the University of Southern Mississippi, where he played football and where his daughter was currently playing volleyball.
But isn’t Brett Favre filthy rich?
Now bear in mind that Favre earned nearly $150 million during his NFL career. And Fortune estimates his net worth today at over $100 million – complete with earnings of nearly $10 million annually in endorsements and other investments. In other words, he was rich enough to pay for this stadium with his petty cash.
Yet that CNN report includes these damning text messages between Favre and his co-conspirators:
________
‘Just left Brett Farve (sic). Can we help him with his project,’ [former Gov. Phil Bryant] wrote to Nancy New, the founder of the nonprofit Mississippi Community Education Center, in a July 2019 message. ‘We should meet soon to see how I can make sure we keep your projects on course.’
In a separate conversation nearly two years prior, Favre wrote to New about his concerns about media publicity. ‘If you were to pay me is there anyway the media can find out where it came from and how much?’ Favre wrote in an August 2017 message. ‘No, we never have had that information publicized,’ New said.
The next day, New texted Favre with an update: ‘Wow, just got off the phone with Phil Bryant! He is on board with us! We will get this done!’
________
And boy did they ever… But this raises two lingering questions:
- How can any self-respecting student at the University of Southern Mississippi ever set foot, let alone play, in that Volleyball stadium again knowing it was built on funds that deprived Black Mississippians of clean drinking water? Instead, they should demand the university donate the full cost plus interest to the Black mayor of Jackson – earmarked to help its residents cope with this ongoing water crisis.
- The NFL suspended Michael Vick for mistreating dogs. So how can the NFL allow Brett Favre to attend any of its functions or retain any association with him knowing that he conspired to treat Black folks worse than stray dogs?
White flight, then a water crisis?
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves finally lifted the 40-day boil-water advisory for Jackson yesterday. But the trust between him and the Black residents of Jackson is such that finding anyone in that city who will be comforted by his announcement will be like finding a needle in a haystack.
I’m sure the commentator on last night’s edition of the NBC Nightly news thought he was providing profound insight when he explained that Jackson’s chronic water crisis is the result of whites fleeing to the suburbs and taking their tax dollars with them.
After all, that is plainly contradicted by this Favre scandal. Because it shows those very whites who fled the city using their political clout at the state and federal level to systematically siphon off federal funds, depriving the Blacks they left behind of the means to produce clean drinking water and manage sewage treatment.