Speaker Organizations

We the People of Detroit

We the People of Detroit is dedicated to community coalition building and provides resources that inform, train, and mobilize the citizens of Detroit and beyond to improve their quality of life.

The WPD Community Research Collective is a collaboration between community activists, academics, researchers, and designers. Its research about water, land, and education issues in Detroit, provided with and for its citizens, has been used in settings ranging from community organizing to legal and legislative work in an effort to build a more democratic city

WPD CRC is publishing the first of a three-part series documenting the social consequences and racial inequity of austerity policies and Emergency Management in Detroit. This publication is focused on water

WPD worked with the Detroit Health Department to illustrate the impact of water shutoffs on public health and participated in a collaborative research study with the Henry Ford Health System on water shutoffs and health, taking into account the “Social Vulnerability Index.” 

See more.

UAINE

UAINE, United American Indians of New England, is an organization of Native people and their supporters. UAINE fights back against racism towards Native people, the Pilgrim mythology perpetuated in Plymouth, the use of racist terms as sports team names and mascots, and the United States assault on poor people. It fights for the freedom of Leonard Peltier and other political prisoners, and supports Indigenous struggles in New England and throughout America. 

UAINE welcomes the support of Indigenous people from all parts of the Americas as well as non-Native people, believing that it is the organization’s duty to support all those who struggle, including the lesbian and gay community, disabled people, and other communities of color.

See more.

#DeeperThanWater

#DeeperThanWater, a coalition of organizations, exposes the rampant human rights abuses that prisoners in the United States are subjected to. It uses the lens of water justice as an entry point and to highlight the toxity of the carceral state. The coalition was formed in light of the dire conditions in Massachusetts prisons, with particular emphasis on MCI-Norfolk, whose coffee-colored water has made national headlines for dangerous levels of sediment including neurotoxic levels of manganese and outrageous levels of rust that leave prisoners with skin lesions and gastrointestinal distress.

See more.

Gaza Unlocked, a project of the American Friends Service Committee

For over a decade, two million Palestinians in Gaza have lived under a brutal military blockade imposed by Israel. Media stories about Gaza primarily focus on violence and politics, while stories of how the blockade impacts everyday life remain largely untold. Gaza Unlocked provides firsthand accounts from Palestinians living in Gaza, information about the blockade, and opportunities to make a difference.

Access to clean and safe water is denied to Palestinians in Gaza under Israel’s occupation and blockade. Overexploitation of the Coastal Aquifer on which Gaza relies—combined with contamination from chemicals, wastewater, and other pollutants—has created a situation in which 97% of Gaza’s water supply isn’t fit for human consumption.   

Repeated Israeli military attacks on Gaza have damaged or destroyed water and sanitation infrastructure, including desalination plants, wells, and waste management facilities. The blockade prevents Gaza from repairing or replacing this infrastructure, as Israel prohibits the import of necessary materials.  

See more.

1for3

Working with partners in the West Bank for ten years, 1for3 has identified four dominant challenges in the everyday lives of Palestinian refugees. Like families anywhere, the intersection of water, food, health, and education is critical for everyday wellbeing. Living under the Israeli occupation exacerbates challenges to preserving the robust relationship between water, food, health, and education that is already under threat in camp conditions. 1for3 works at the intersection of these four components.

The ongoing Israeli occupation interferes with the natural dependency between water, food, health, and education in the everyday lives of those living under it. Unreliable sources of clean water and lack of arable land impact the cultivation of food, which, in turn, affects the health and well being of individuals.

See more.

We thank these organizations and all our additional co-sponsors.