It was ultimately the determined, relentless efforts of theВ Flint community members such as Copeny that forced a reckoning over how such a scandal could have been allowed to happen. It would later be declared by The Michigan Civil Rights Commission that the poor governmental response to the Flint crisis was a вЂњresult of systemic racism.вЂќ Outrageously, both local officials and the media claimed the water was safe and discounted and discredited residents concerns for months. As we now know, the treatment plant was not equipped with the proper equipment to treat the water, and the river water damaged the pipes allowing lead and bacteria to poison the water. The Flint Water Crisis began when the drinking water source for the city was changed from pre-treated water from Detroit to the Flint River and treated in the Flint Water Treatment Plant. ItвЂ™s a cause that hits close to home for Copeny, who lives in Flint, Michigan and was only eight years old when the cityвЂ™s water was poisoned in 2014. Hosted on GoFundMe, the fund is partnered with socially-responsible water filtration company Hydroviv to provide state-of-the-art water filters to communities in need.

Today, clean water activist and BRICKS cover star Mari Copeny, better known as Little Miss Flint, smashes her $200,000 clean water fund set last August.

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