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little miss flint

For the past, the present, and the future, people share their reasons for marching.

In an unprecedented rebuke to the inauguration of President Donald Trump, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets and marched on Washington, D.C. — and around the world — on Jan. 21, 2017.

On his first full day in office, the Women's March on Washington drew demonstrators from across the country — men, women, and children alike — to fight back against harmful rhetoric and campaign proposals Trump has promised.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters descend on Washington, D.C., for the Women's March. Photo by Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images.

The march, which comes amid a slew of new polls reflecting historically low favorability ratings for the 45th president, united members of many marginalized groups, from people of color and immigrants to LGBTQ Americans and survivors of sexual assault to members of the disabled community who created a virtual version of the march — all who felt targeted by the president throughout his 2016 campaign.

Using the hashtag #WhyIMarch on Twitter, many marchers expressed why they took to the streets. Here are 31 of their powerful responses:

1. This person is marching for his son, who idolizes Hillary Clinton.

2. This person is marching for undocumented immigrants, who deserve better.

3. This person is marching to pay her mother's selflessness forward.

4. This person is marching to take a stand for disability rights and respect.

5. This person is marching because she is enough.

6. This person is marching because she wants to do what's right for her child.

7. This person is marching because there's no excuse for inequality.

8. This person is marching because we should all have control over our own bodies.

9. The actor Melissa Benoist, marches because you just don't mess with Supergirl (or the woman who plays her).

10. This person is marching to be an ally to everyone who feels afraid.

11. This person is marching because women ... well, they're people, too.

12. This person is marching because the future depends on having good schools.

13. Little Miss Flint is marching because we all deserve clean drinking water.

14. This person is marching to feel rejuvenated once again.

15. This person is marching for trans rights.

16. This person is marching because "justice for all" means justice for all.

17. This person is marching for her granddaughter — and everyone else's, too.

18. This person is marching because she's basically everything Trump has attacked on the campaign trail.

19. This person is marching because equal rights shouldn't be controversial.

20. This person is marching for female veterans and those living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

21. This person is marching because of the women who came before her.

22. This person is marching because her family is as diverse as America itself.

23. This person is marching to take a stand against sexual assault.

24. This person is marching to put an end to gun violence.

25. These people are marching because the rights of all women are at stake, no matter their jobs.

26. This person is marching because we simply cannot give up now.

27. CNN's Sally Kohn is marching because these are not the words of a leader.

28. This person is marching because the future depends on it.

29. Actress Lupita Nyong'o marches because she won't let the world rob her of her dignity.

30. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington) marches as a message to politicians who want to deny people access to affordable care at Planned Parenthood.

31. This person marches because she survived the attack at Sandy Hook and won't stop now.

Human rights are under attack. Women's rights are under attack. The women, the men, the boys, and the girls who march today are sending a powerful message at those who seek to deny others those rights.

No matter who you voted for (or if you voted) in November's election, you have a right to make your voice heard — and around the world, hundreds of thousands of people are doing just that. Change is possible, and protests do work.

The 31 stories shared here are a small sampling of the wide range of reasons people have taken to the streets in dissent. When things look tough, let us look to those voices, let us join in their chorus.

A woman in Barcelona, Spain, marches for women's rights. Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images.

It's Christmastime in Flint, Michigan, and all that Mari "Little Miss Flint" Copeny wants is a Hatchimal. Oh, and to finally have clean water again.

You remember her, right? The adorable 9-year-old beauty queen who wrote a letter to President Obama about her hometown's ongoing water crisis and later got caught in an unfortunate campaign trail photo with Donald Trump?

Photo by The White House/Flickr.

Mari hasn't had a bath at home under an actual running faucet since April 2014. And it's not looking like that's going to change anytime soon, either.

Seven people live in Mari's house in Flint. They twist open dozens of small water bottles every day just so they can all shower and eat.

According to Mari's mother, Loui Brezzell, the family goes through about four cases of 16-ounce water bottles every day, not counting their drinking water, which they get from a five-gallon dispenser in the kitchen. "Most people use that every day," she says, "but they don’t have to measure it. They’re just turning on their tap."

And when the family needs more? Brezzell has to drive down to one of the city's water pods, expending her own time and gasoline to collect it herself, since the state won't expend the resources to deliver water to every home. At least they put the cases into her car for her — although she still has to unload it herself at home and has to deal with all that plastic waste.

Mari is not amused. Photo by Loui Brezzell, used with permission.

Mari and her family still have to manually twist open and pour out each bottle, one at a time, to use it. Boiling water for pasta? Open six or seven bottles. Cleaning produce so your kids will actually their veggies? Open more bottles. Brushing your teeth? Open another bottle. Washing your hands after using the bathroom? Open a bottle. Bath time? Lots of bottles.

"It’s a lot of water. It’s a lot of time. But if that’s what it takes to ensure my kids are safe and healthy, then we’ll take the extra steps," Brezzell says.

The family used 144 bottles of water just to prep their Thanksgiving dinner this year — and Christmas isn't looking much different.

Brezzell can't even be certain of how many people she needs to prep for. "You never know how many will come through over the holidays," she says. "It’s a pretty open-door policy. Our house tends to be the spot where kids in the neighborhood and friends and family that comes through." But she believes in being a part of the community like that — especially since no one else is taking care of their city.

Mari and her siblings. Photo by Loui Brezzell, used with permission.

This year's holiday menu will likely include a Christmas ham (more bottles for thawing) and some prime rib, plus fresh veggies ("My kids eat like rabbits. They could probably clear 10 pounds of raw vegetables in one day") and mashed potatoes (bottles for cleaning and bottles for boiling).

"In the beginning [of the water crisis], using the bottles was a pain in the butt," Brezzell says. "It’s still a pain, but we’ve been putting up with this for so long that it’s second nature."

Water pickup in the spring. Photo by Loui Brezzell, used with permission.

Even joyful traditions like holiday cookies have turned into painful chores.

Every year before Christmas, family and friends gather at the Brezzell-Copeny house for a big ol' baking party. They make everything from oatmeal raisin to snickerdoodles to sugar cookies and snowballs and beyond.

But even that process involves bottled water to clean the mixing bowls and baking sheets, or to add into the powders and doughs to make the cookies moist. "That’s where you have the kids come in. Like, 'Hey, you wanna play a game? Come open bottles of water!'" Brezzell says with a laugh.

Inevitably, the kids' hands start to hurt from all that repetitive twisting, and it falls back to the adults to keep up the holiday spirits in the kitchen.

Photo by Loui Brezzell, used with permission.

Yet, despite their own troubles, Mari and Loui also spend the holiday season giving back to Flint residents who are even less fortunate than they are.

"People don’t realize that there are kids here that are still in need," Brezzell says, referring to the more than 40% of Flint residents who live in poverty. "If anything, they’re so focused on donating bottled water that they don’t realize that there are kids here who would just love to have a Christmas but they can’t afford dolls."

As much as Mari wants an elusive Hatchimal for herself (mom's working on it), she also serves as the youth ambassador for Pretty Brown Girl's Doll Drive, raising money for toys and empowerment programs for underprivileged girls.

Mari posing with her Pretty Brown Girl doll (and some of her beauty pageant awards). Photo by Loui Brezzell, used with permission.

Meanwhile, Brezzell has been speaking up on behalf of the hundreds of Flint residents who are facing eviction. "Christmas is coming, it’s freezing cold, and you want to put people on the streets because their landlord isn't paying the water bill?" Brezzell says. "Kind of hard when you can’t use the water, right?"

The media cycle may have moved on, but Flint's water crisis is far from over.

"I just want people to see what we deal with, how life is, and try to keep attention on the people here," Brezzell says. "We literally have a third-world problem in America that’s not being addressed."

Yup. Photo by Loui Brezzell, used with permission.

But here's perhaps the most frustrating thing about this water crisis. It started because the state was hoping to save $200 million over 25 years. But they could have avoided the problem entirely if they'd just spent $100 a day to add anti-corrosive agents to the water.

In other words, Flint is what happens when you run a city like a business — based on money — instead of treating people like humans.

You may have seen her photo ops with Obama and Trump. Here's her story.

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When 7-year-old Mari Copeny was crowned Miss Flint in the spring of 2015, she and her mom already knew something was wrong with the water in their Michigan home.

The water — which they would later learn was contaminated with lead from corroding pipes — was giving the family rashes. “We knew something was up, but [at that point] we had no idea it would become such a widespread crisis,” explains Mari’s mother LuLu.

Mari Copeny. Image via LuLu Brezzell, used with permission.

Months later, officials confirmed the suspicions of residents in Flint, Michigan. The water had been switched to a new supply source in April 2014, and was corroding the city’s pipes. The result? Severe, widespread lead contamination — an incredibly dangerous issue, especially for children.

After news of the unsafe water broke, Mari was ready to do everything she could for her community.

Mari (who’s now 9) has been doing community service since she was 3, often focusing on helping bring positive light to local law enforcement. But when she learned that the water in her town was dangerously contaminated, “She became concerned about the kids, especially her brother and sister,” says her mom. “She asked to go out and protest and help to pass out water.”

Mari with a friend at a water donation drive in Ohio. Image via LuLu Brezzell, used with permission.

Since then, Mari — now known as “Little Miss Flint” — has helped with bottle drives, marched in parades, talked on the news, and become a voice for change.

She may be best known for a letter she wrote to President Obama in spring 2016, which helped spur his decision to visit Flint in person. “Even just a meeting from you or your wife would really lift people’s spirits,” Mari wrote.

President Obama responded to Mari’s letter with a promise to visit the following week and added, “Like you, I’ll use my voice to call for change and help lift up your community.”

Mari meeting President Obama in May 2016. Image via LuLu Brezzell, used with permission.

Mari poses in front a mural in Flint of herself and President Obama. Image via LuLu Brezzell, used with permission.

The water in Flint is still not safe.

In the past few months, Flint has begun to fade from the public eye. The water in Flint has now been contaminated for two and a half years. Federal aid funding to fix the issue has been approved by the United States Senate, but the progress toward clean water is slow going. Because the lead contamination in the water was coming from the pipes themselves, all the affected pipes in the city need to be changed before the water can be declared safe.

In Mari’s house, the family is still using bottled water to cook, drink, and brush their teeth.

“Sometimes kids can be the ones that end up making a change,” Mari insists. “Just because we are kids doesn't mean that we can't change the world.”

In many ways, Mari is just a normal 9-year-old kid: She likes to draw cartoons, read, and ride her bike. But until the water in Flint is 100% safe, she intends to continue fighting for justice in Flint. She explains, “My favorite thing about being Little Miss Flint is being able to be a voice for the kids here in Flint and getting to meet and make new friends.”

What’s the one thing Mari wants to tell the whole country? “That the Flint water crisis is far from over, so please don't forget about Flint. And to the kids, remember that one kid can change the world!”

[rebelmouse-image 19475694 dam="1" original_size="2000x2000" caption="Mari poses in her "future president" shirt. Image via LuLu Brezzell, used with permission." expand=1]Mari poses in her "future president" shirt. Image via LuLu Brezzell, used with permission.

The Flint water crisis still isn't over. In fact, it may have gotten worse.

9-year-old Mari Copeny has been in more than 60 beauty pageants — and she's even won a few. But you might know her better for the letter she wrote to President Obama.

The letter turned national attention onto "Little Miss Flint" and helped convince the president to visit her hometown of Flint, Michigan, to see firsthand just how bad the city's ongoing water crisis really was.But by the time the president came to visit, it had been two years since Flint had clean water, causing health problems for children like Copeny.

It kept happening for years: Every time the decision-making power was moved into the hands of some other department or authority, that authority managed to bungle things up even more. Yeah. It was bad. But hey, Obama!

When Flint's emergency status was lifted in August 2016, the city seemed to disappear from the news.

The city received millions of dollars from Congress to invest in new pipes that weren't corroded, and local authorities were finally given the power to determine their own destiny.

From the outside, things were certainly looking up, and there was nothing newsworthy left to cover — at least, until a certain Republican front-runner paid a visit and was caught in an awkward photo op with Little Miss Flint.

The photo quickly went viral, for obvious reasons. But it turned out that the moment wasn't quite what it seemed.

Little Miss Flint wasn't scared of Donald Trump. Instead, according to her mother, who helps run her daughter's social media accounts, the whole situation was blown way out of proportion.

"We had to get through the crowd twice to get his attention since [Trump] walked out the opposite way he came in (which had her a bit overwhelmed)," she wrote on Facebook. "Then, with people yelling at him, and add the secret service to the mix, well think how you would feel? Their whole interaction was ten seconds tops."

Little Miss Flint was actually there to ask Trump one question: "What are you going to do for the kids here in Flint?"

Yep, the 9-year-old spokesperson was much more concerned about the possibility of taking a bath from an actual running tap than political semantics. Imagine that.

Copeny has expressed her distaste for Trump in the past, out of fear that his proposed wall would send some of her friends away. But her mother, a registered Independent, said that she's willing to vote for whoever can make Flint's water start running again.

As of Sept. 26, 2016, the water in Flint is still not safe.

There's also no money to spend on fixing these problems either. The aid package that the city already received from Congress is wrapped up with all kinds of caveats and requirements, and they're still waiting for more federal funding to pass. And assuming that it does pass, they'll still have to wait for all the paperwork to go through, which could take years.

**The city of Flint decided to sue the Michigan state government to get the funding they need to fix their water system — and even that's more complicated than it should be.**

The city filed their notice of intent to sue back in March — because certain legal processes require you to file your intentions within a set period of time before you can actually move forward with the suit. Don't ask me why; that's just how it is.

That's not the only frustrating legal issue standing between the city and some clean new pipes though. The advisory board in charge of transitioning the city back into its own control abruptly changed the rules on the city, so that now in order to actually sue the Michigan state government, the city also needs to obtain permission ... from the Michigan state government, through an advisory board appointed by the governor.

A representative for the state government insisted that this change was made to ensure that all involved parties had a voice in the litigation conversation. And maybe that's even true — after all, the city has been passed through a bajillion different hands over the last few years, and they all played their own unique role in the water process.

But while that's all being settled, Flint is going on two and a half years without clean tap water. Who knows how much longer the bureaucracy will take — and what kind of funding will be left when it's all resolved?

So, yes. It's funny to see a cute child terrified of Trump.

But that photo also distracts us from the fact that a majority-black city is still being poisoned through a combination of negligence, greed, and chemical water.

Simply put, the ongoing Flint water crisis can be seen as the epitome of systemic environmental racism (and, to some degrees, classism).

On some level, maybe that's what Little Miss Flint's frightened expression was actually reacting to: the fact that people like her, and the rest of the citizens of Flint, might still be looked down upon and left to suffer by a system that sees them as less than human.

She made this sentiment clear in her response to that viral Trump photo: