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Chapter 21
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in What the Eyes Don’t See, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Racism and Environmental Injustice
Truth vs. Corruption
Community Values and Collective Duty
The American Dream
Family, Tradition, and Strength
Summary
Analysis
The week after the press conference, Eden Wells—the chief medical officer for the state of Michigan—called Mona and apologized for not reaching out earlier. Mona was uncertain whether she should be relieved or nervous about Eden was reaching out to her. Eden stated that she was the state’s “point person” for the “controversy” in Flint, and she had some questions for Mona about her research.
This passage shows that at this point, Mona no longer trusted anyone in the Michigan government. She was aware of the corruption that ran deep throughout every level of governance—and even Eden’s coded language about the “controversy” in Flint showed that the government still wasn’t ready to admit that anything was really happening.
Themes
Mona told Eden that she and Jenny were running their numbers again, using GIS software to make sure the data was even more precise. Eden assured Mona that the state was going to look at its data again, too. Mona felt relieved that someone at the state level was actually thinking about science rather than focusing on damage control.
Even though Mona was uncertain about whether or not to trust the state government, she took Eden at her word. By admitting that they were looking at their research again, it seemed the state was actually starting to budge—Mona’s commitment to the truth was working, it seemed.
Themes
Later, when Mona’s FOIA requests went through and the MDHHS emails became public, Mona would learn that the state had doubled down and gone on the attack immediately rather than rechecking their own results. State officials used the rhetoric of “seasonality” to undermine Mona’s research. She realized that no one at the state level cared about Flint’s kids—all they cared about was winning. Eden’s directive to the state to actually reconsider their numbers would prove to be a game changer.
Once Mona realized that the state was picking apart any vulnerability in her research they could find, she understood that the state had abandoned its duty to its citizens. Rather than being horrified and motivated toward action, they were entirely on the defensive. Racism and corruption continued to define the state’s response to the crisis.
Themes
On October 1st, the Genesee County Health Department declared a public health emergency. Nick Lyon, a higher-up with the MDHHS, was planning a news conference. Andy called Mona to tell her that the state was going to confirm her findings at the conference—they were surrendering. Eden called her to confirm this, too: the state was reversing its position.
In the midst of what seemed like a never-ending coverup, Mona and her team received the shocking news that the state was at last capitulating. This illustrates the power of truth and honesty. Mona and her team brought the truth to light with motivation and integrity—and their commitment to the facts won out in the end.
Themes
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Mona arrived at the state news conference on the Kettering University campus. She and Kirk entered a room packed with media. As the conference began, Eden noted that there was an increase in the percentage of kids with elevated blood-lead levels—according to Mona’s research and the state’s. Dan Wyant, the head of MDEQ, stepped forward to outline an action plan—but Mona felt that the plan was empty and hollow. The state had admitted that there was a problem, but they still weren’t admitting their culpability in the crisis.
Even though Mona and her team were excited about the state’s reversal of its position, the official press conference illustrated that there was still a lot of work to be done—the fight for Flint wasn’t over yet. The state was continuing to do the bare minimum—again demonstrating the racist, individualist politics of denial and concealment at the heart of their entire operation.
Themes
After the press conference, Mona and Kirk got to meet with some state officials and go over the plan. The atmosphere in the meeting room was tense. Mona confronted Brad Wurfel about how he’d characterized her research as “irresponsible,” and he apologized to her face. But Mona knew that she wasn’t the one he should be apologizing to—he really owed an apology to Flint residents.
This passage illustrates the long-term effects of corruption and concealment. Even though Mona got an apology from a state official, it felt beside the point. Wurfel’s duty should have been to the citizens of Flint—but he abandoned that duty and left thousands of vulnerable people to fend for themselves. So Mona wasn’t satisfied with the truth or with an empty apology: she wanted to change the way government officials experienced a sense of responsibility to their constituencies.
Themes
On Saturday, October 3rd, United Way began distributing water filters to the public at the University of Michigan’s Flint campus. Mona’s residents volunteered at the distribution while Mona stayed home with Nina and Layla, knowing she owed them some of her time and attention after such a long fight. While playing with her girls, Mona paused to send Jenny a text: “We did it,” she wrote. “Kids are going to be protected.”
There was still a lot of work to do—but real, meaningful, community-wide change was happening on the ground in Flint because of Mona and Jenny’s perseverance and commitment to the truth. They worked hard for their community—and they delivered results that the government never would have.
Themes
