Brooke Tucker, Staff AttorneyShare this on Facebook | Tweet this
As a civil-rights lawyer, I’ve dedicated my career to battling back the infuriating unfairness that runs rampant through our society. As a black woman, I’ve experienced for myself the sting of racism and know just how depressing and disempowering such hateful bias can feel.
But when it comes to the water shut-offs I’ve seen taking place around Detroit—shut-offs that I’m fighting to end as an attorney with the ACLU of Michigan—I find myself feeling angrier and sadder than usual. With every meeting about the issue that I attend, I find myself leaving more bitter, more enraged and more heartbroken than the day before.
Finally, I’ve figured out why: I’ve never before been faced with how devastating our government’s lack of regard for poor people can be—especially when the poor are also people of color.