We the Poisoned

"Jordan Chariton pulls off an investigative masterclass that manages to entertain, shock, infuriate, and break hearts all at once. In a journalism industry too often marked by the abandonment of stories like Flint, Chariton's unrelenting reporting should place this ongoing government cover-up back on front pages. --Ryan Grim, journalist, DC Bureau Chief, The Intercept Thank you, Jordan, for your continuous efforts to keep the Flint Water Crisis front and center. This book is an in-depth look behind the scenes of the cover-up of the largest man-made disaster this country has experienced at the hands of our government. It exposes the corruption and deception that was done to the people of Flint. To date, not one person has been held accountable for this terrible crime, the residents have not received settlement payments, and most media outlets have ignored what has happened here. This is a must read! --Karen Weaver, former mayor of Flint We the Poisoned is a brilliant work of investigative journalism. Drawing upon an impressive body of first-person interviews and research materials, Jordan Chariton persuasively argues that the Flint water crisis was not merely the consequence of cruel neoliberal policies and incompetent political leadership. Instead, he makes a compelling case for a full-fledged government conspiracy and cover up designed to shield the powerful from accountability for their gross and indefensible violence against the vulnerable. This is a book that should be read by all Americans and taught in every journalism curriculum. --Marc Lamont Hill, author of ""Nobody: Casualties of America's War on the Vulnerable from Ferguson to Flint and Beyond"" From the foreword: Chariton has shown why this story is not merely about one city, or one immoral cover-up, but really about the unholy merger of our government and corporate America--and the resulting toxicity that has infected our representative democracy. Just when it seems the layers of this cover-up have been revealed, Chariton peels back even more. He stops at nothing to expose the ugly and jaw-dropping information that we the people must know. --Erin Brockovich, consumer advocate, environmental activist, and author, ""Superman's Not Coming: Our National Water Crisis and What We the People Can Do About It"" We the Poisoned is a cautionary reminder of what happens when callous indifference meets cold-blooded power. Jordan Chariton illuminates the stories of Flint residents and how government not only failed to protect them, it poisoned them. This is a must read for all of us. The Flint residents are us. --Nina Turner, former Ohio state senator; national cochair, Bernie Sanders 2020; and senior fellow, Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy An unexpected hero arrives to expose and confront the villains. And in the case of Flint, Michigan, that hero was Jordan Chariton, the man who uncovered the ethnic cleansing and the profits it would make for the powers that be. This book tells that important story, one that all of us from Flint are hugely grateful for and hope you will read in this necessary book. --Michael Moore, American documentary filmmaker No one has covered the Flint water crisis like Jordan Chariton. We the Poisoned is a comprehensive account, interviewing witnesses not interviewed by others and uncovering documents not seen by other reporters. When those reporters went home, Chariton came back--and kept coming back. The people of Flint will never be made whole and will not get the criminal justice they deserve. This book at least gives them back important parts of their story. --Peter Hammer, professor of law, Wayne State University This book is an important reminder of the crucial role that investigative journalism plays in our civic culture. Left to their own devices, Michigan and federal officials would have covered up the tragic chain of decisions that led to the poisoning of the water supply in Flint, Michigan. But Jordan Chariton was among a handful of reporters determined to pierce through the web of denials and document what really happened, which he has laid out with meticulous detail in We the Poisoned. --Michael Isikoff, journalist and coauthor, ""Find Me the Votes"""