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Chapter 22
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
Later, Mona and her team would continue to find out more and more “troubling” things about the water crisis. FOIA releases revealed that the state had been denying claims of a water crisis since 2015 with empty, carefully crafted “talking points” designed to cover up reality and perpetuate a web of lies.
This passage suggests that the truth always comes to light—and that only a reckoning with reality can hold people accountable for their corrupt actions.
Themes
Even while state officials told Flint residents that their water was fine, they were, behind the scenes, arranging for water coolers to be distributed throughout the Flint State Office Building so that state employees wouldn’t have to drink the contaminated city water. The city and state were manipulating the water samples from Flint homes so that they wouldn’t have to issue an advisory about the presence of lead, using covert methods to warp results and make it seem like Flint’s water really was fine.
This passage shows that many higher-ups in the government knew there was a crisis—but rather than admitting the truth and taking action to protect their community, they simply sought to look out for themselves and keep the facts buried. This neglect—especially in a place like Flint—illustrates profoundly the long-lasting effects of environmental racism and injustice.
Themes
To this day, Mona writes, no one knows why corrosion control wasn’t added to the water, or why so many other shortcuts were taken and red flags were ignored. But what was clear was that while the MDHHS had done an analysis of spiking blood-lead levels back in 2015, they dismissed and covered up the results. Legionnaires’ disease was on the rise back in 2014—the number of cases quadrupled after the water switch—yet still, the county health department didn’t do anything about the spike. Mona and her team were amazed by the disdain, cruelty, arrogance, and indeed racism of the institutions that were duty-bound to protect their citizens.
This passage illustrates the insidious long-term effects of corruption and injustice. The egregious coverup of the water crisis left many citizens suffering or even dead. Rather than address the problem ravaging their community, state officials chose to ignore the citizens of Flint—whom they likely saw as unimportant or even dispensable because they were poor and Black.
Themes
Mona and her team knew they couldn’t rest until the water source was switched back to Detroit—the people of Flint needed a long-term solution, not water filters and bottled water. As activists across the country learned more about the water crisis and as Flint residents organized and mobilized, more and more people began putting pressure on the governor to switch the source back. On October 8th, Governor Snyder announced that the water would be switched back to Detroit. Right away, supportive and congratulatory calls and texts began pouring into Mona’s phone—but she felt numb.
Mona’s team’s commitment to the truth had a ripple effect throughout the community of Flint, the state of Michigan, and indeed the entire U.S. The more people learned about the truth, the angrier they became—and the more committed they were to standing up for the citizens of Flint, knowing that Flint’s government would not do so. This illustrates how truth is the most powerful weapon against corruption and concealment: it casts light over darkness.
Themes
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During the same press conference, Eden Wells came forward to discuss the fact that three schools in the Flint area had been found to have toxic levels of lead. Right after announcing this, Eden began to talk about other preventative measures, such as vacuuming, mopping, and cleaning windowsills to mitigate lead paint contamination. Mona was furious—she knew that the state was still trying to deflect its culpability and shift focus away from the water crisis.
The state was admitting that there was a problem—but it was still trying to suggest that factors other than its own negligence were to blame for the crisis. This illustrates how deep corruption runs and how it rots a community from the inside out by ignoring history and placing blame on the most vulnerable.
Themes
Rather than dwell on her fury, though, Mona returned to her office, where she turned her focus to her upcoming conferences with her residents—she needed to turn her attention to the people in her life she’d been neglecting since the start of her involvement in studying the water crisis.
This passage illustrates how Mona continued, all the way through her fight, to draw strength from her family in times of doubt and fury.
Themes
On the day the water was to be switched back, October 16th, Senator Debbie Stabenow paid a visit to Hurley. Stabenow, a former social worker, had always been a strong advocate for children and a public health warrior. Mona was excited to have the chance to share her research with the senator. Stabenow was rattled by the things Mona shared with her, and she promised to fight for federal funding for long-term support in Flint—and to pressure the governor to make a “disaster declaration” so that more resources would reach the city. But Mona had a more pressing need: she asked the senator for help getting ready-to-feed formula to Flint babies. Stabenow promised Mona she’d do everything she could to make it happen.
Mona’s fruitful, emotional meeting with Stabenow shows that there were, after all, government officials who were invested in social change and true justice for their constituents. Even though corruption and racism had stymied Flint’s growth, there were people who were dedicated to making an investment in the city and its residents.
Themes
That same day—in spite of all the red tape, denial, and excuses they’d faced—Mona and her team watched proudly as the EPA acknowledged the water crisis, established a Flint Safe Drinking Water Task Force, and vowed to crack down on state water agencies and fraudulent testing methods. With the simple flip of a switch, the lives of families all over Flint began to change.
This passage shows that a relentless dedication to truth, anti-racism, and environmental justice—along with a healthy dose of community activism—can make real, meaningful change.
Themes
