This past summer I took my visiting nephews to the Museum of Modern Art, (MoMA), in New York City. Walking through a gallery, I noticed a crowd around a young dynamic woman talking about the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. I have never been to a major museum where the artist, in this case, LaToya Ruby Frazier, was on hand to speak about her work. It was such a privilege. Within seconds of being in her compelling presence, I grabbed my phone and started recording. Her communication and storytelling skills mesmerize.
In this short video we hear Frazier’s outrage at the corruption of General Motors and their disinterest of the people in Flint, Michigan as they pollute their rivers and poison their water supplies for decades. What is most egregious the business executives and politicians get away with it.
Unfortunately, these endless stories of racism, corporate greed and inequality are as American as apple pie.
Frazier’s tireless documentation, and collaboration with other activists, Amber Hasan, Shea Cobb and engineer, Moses West, channel their rage to find a solution to this man-made tragedy. The solution is West’s invention, the Atmospheric Water Generator, that makes clean water accessible to communities in need.
Her photographs, videos and interviews, with a matching grant from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation , enabled Frazier, and her team, to bring West’s innovation from Texas to Michigan and start to remedy the toxic water situation in Flint.
Although the water crisis in America, if not the world, is just gaining traction in some science circles, most people choose not to engage. The situation is too complicated and most people feel the solution is way beyond their pay grade to make a difference.
Sometimes the tireless work takes years to see any glimmers of light, but what Frazier shows us through her decades-long career in art and activism, you can make a difference in the communities you care about and live in. The key is to engage, always.