Every year, CSU picks a book for Rams Read, an initiative aimed at bringing the community together to engage in an important conversation related to the book chosen. This year, the Rams Read initiative has expanded into a Thematic Year, where we will engage in a topic, including events throughout the year, including those related to the book.
In our college, we were excited that the theme for 2022-2023 is health, and the book chosen was What the Eyes Don’t See by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha. Dr. Mona (as she calls herself) is a pediatrician and was a whistle-blower for Flint, Michigan’s water crisis, specifically the high lead levels in the city’s water and its effect on children.
The book is Dr. Mona’s first-hand account of discovering the high lead levels and working with activists, and environmental scientists and advocates to expose not only the crisis, but also the multiple governmental cover-ups.
This book shines a light on environmental racism. Flint is one of the only municipalities in Michigan with a majority of Black and African American residents. In 2016, Governor Rick Snyder appointed emergency managers in Flint amidst financial concerns. These unelected officials made the decision to switch the city’s water route from Lake Huron through Detroit to the Flint River. The switch involved negligence in several ways as the book details. But beyond this, as high-level officials discovered the contaminants and threats in Flint’s water due to the switch, instead of remedying it, they covered it up.
The book details how the impetus, longevity, and egregiousness of this disaster was largely due to the racism. This operated at all levels that created the oversight of poisoning children in Flint, most of whom were Black children, families of color, and/or those who were working class.
As we launch into our thematic year focused on health, Dr. Mona is coming to CSU September 21st! Please, use the links below to get and read the book, see Dr. Mona, and participate in all the other awesome events to come!
