The Southern Poverty Law Center is again arguing that state agencies in Mississippi are unfairly withholding money from Jackson’s long under-funded water and sewer infrastructure.

SPLC, an Alabama-based legal nonprofit that specializes in racial justice cases, argues in the Aug. 21 lawsuit that the state discriminated against the majority-Black city in violation of the 14th Amendment.

In 2022, the state awarded the capital city $35.6 million in matching funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA. A little over $23 million was for Jackson’s drinking water, with the remainder for wastewater needs. Both of the city’s systems are now under a federal receivership, headed by JXN Water, after struggling for years.

But since the state awarded those funds, SPLC argues, the Office o

See Full Page