LeeAnne Walters
NationalityAmerican
Known forGrassroots environmentalism
AwardsGoldman Environmental Prize (2018)
PEN America's Freedom of Expression Courage Award (2016)

LeeAnne Walters is an American environmental activist from Flint, Michigan. She became known for her role in exposing the Flint water crisis.[1]

Studies and personal life

LeeAnne Walters was trained as medical assistant.[2] She has four children, of which two are twins that were 4 years old in 2014.[3]

Environmental activism

Walters became known for her role in exposing the Flint water crisis.[4] In 2014, her children starting to suffer several medical issues, like rashes, hair dropping blurry vision, and enlarge kidney.[1] Walters started to lose her eyelashes.[5] She then started to make the link with water that started to change color and to flow brown.[1][3] After the city tested the water supply in February 2015, Walters started investigating lead contamination and discovered that the water in her home had 104 parts of lead per billion.[2][4] Her house was the first in being tested.[5] She then collected 800 water samples from all Flint zip codes with tests provided by Virginia Tech professor Marc Edwards,[4] by working 100 hours a week for three weeks.[2] She showed that lead levels in some areas were twice as high as what the Environmental Protection Agency hazardous waste.[2]

On February 3, 2016, Walters testified before the United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform about her work during the water crisis.[6]

In 2015, she founded the advocacy group Water You Fighting For? with Melissa Mays.[2]

Acknowledgment

In 2016, Walters was honored with the PEN America's Freedom of Expression Courage Award.[7][8] The 2017 television drama film Flint is based on the toxic water disaster. In the film, Betsy Brandt played the character of Walters.[9] Walters was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2018, for her key role in exposing the Flint water contamination crisis.[10][11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Brueck, Hilary (24 February 2016). "A mother in Flint, Michigan collected more than 800 neighborhood water samples to help uncover the city's lead crisis". nordic.businessinsider.com. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Persio, Sofia Lotto (2018-04-23). "Flint Water Activist Wins Top Environmental Prize". Newsweek. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  3. 1 2 "A Flint, dans le Michigan, l'eau empoisonnée des pauvres". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2023-08-19. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  4. 1 2 3 Brueck, Hilary. "A mother in Flint, Michigan collected more than 800 neighborhood water samples to help uncover the city's lead crisis". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  5. 1 2 ""Mi casa fue la zona cero": la madre que luchó por desvelar la contaminación por plomo en Flint". BBC News Mundo (in Spanish). 2016-05-03. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  6. ↑ Former EM removed from witness list for Congressional hearing on Flint water The Flint Journal via MLive.com, February 3, 2016
  7. ↑ "2016 PEN/Toni and James C. Goodale Freedom of Expression Courage Award: Lee-Anne Walters and Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha". pen.org. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  8. ↑ "PEN America to Honor Flint Mother and Local Doctor for Speaking Out to Expose Poisoned Water Supply". pen.org. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  9. ↑ Saraiya, Sonia (27 October 2017). "TV Review: Lifetime's 'Flint' Starring Queen Latifah". Variety. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  10. ↑ "Flint water activist LeeAnne Walters wins environmental prize". eu.freep.com. Associated Press. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  11. ↑ "LeeAnne Walter". goldmanprize.org. Retrieved 26 April 2019.


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