When she was just eight years old, Amariyanna Copeny wrote to President Obama to raise awareness about the Flint Water Crisis. The public health crisis started in 2014 when the drinking water of Flint, Michigan became contaminated with lead after officials failed to install proper corrosion inhibitors to the new water source.
Earning the title ‘Little Miss Flint’ from a beauty pageant, Copeny continued to be known as this due to her activism even after her reign as champion had ended. In 2016, Obama responded to her letter, saying that ‘letters from kids like you are what make me so optimistic about the future’, and came to visit Flint in order to survey the situation first-hand. This resulted in nationwide awareness of the crisis and the allocation of funds to fix the crisis.
However, in 2017, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality still deemed the water unsafe. Copeny continued her activism, speaking to the crowd at the ‘Stand Up to Trump’ rally about Trump’s failure to deliver on the promise he made during his campaign to fix the crisis. She also spoke against Trumps restrictive immigration policies. Since then, she has raised money for bottled water. She has also raised funds to help the Flint community in other ways, partnering with the Central Michigan University ‘Pack Your Back’ campaign to provide disadvantaged children with backpacks and school supplies, and raising money as part of the #BlackPantherChallenge to give disadvantaged Black children the opportunity to see Marvel’s Black Panther.
The Flint Water Crisis is still ongoing, particularly in terms of felony misconduct-in-office charges, but the water quality and the crisis’ impact on the community have improved due to Little Miss Flint’s activism and fundraising. She continues to champion community causes, and has ambitions to run for the Oval Office when she turns 36 in 2044. Her advice to other young girls is ‘to always believe in yourself and in the work that you are doing, even if the work is hard and it sometimes feels impossible. You can do it. You can change the world right now. You don’t have to wait until you grow up.’
